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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) John Doe is depicted as the seven of hearts in a deck of cards that includes photos of cold-case victims. The cards are issued to inmates to help solve the crimes.  Photo Gallery: Cold Case Cards   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Cold case: Family of Monroe woman angry that killer is still out there 8/24/08 • Cold Case: Man, 24, was gunned down during dispute 8/10/08 • Cold case: Father was shot to death at his Lynnwood-area home 8/3/08 • No one would say how inmate was killed 7/27/08 • Cold case: Man's body was found dumped in lot 7/20/08 • Can you help police solve 2005 slaying? 6/29/08 • Police seek clues in 20-year-old slaying 6/22/08 • Police seek help in 2005 slaying 6/15/08 • Police seek clues to missing boy 6/8/08 • Police seek clues to 2005 murder 6/1/08 • Detectives hope answers to cold cases lie in a deck of cards 5/25/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, July 13, 2008 Nearly everything about Lake Stickney shooting victim a mystery By Diana Hefley Herald Writer LYNNWOOD -- There's a lot detectives don't know about the man on the seven of hearts. They don't know his name, where he lived, or how he ended up floating among the lily pads in Lake Stickney. Detectives are certain about one thing. John Doe was repeatedly shot in the head, a victim of homicide. The shooter hasn't been caught. The slain man is the only unidentified person featured on the state's first cold-case playing cards. Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the cards to solicit leads from jail and prison inmates about unsolved homicide and missing persons cases. Inmates are offered a reward for useful information. John Doe's death left investigators with two mysteries. Who is he and who killed him? A fisherman spotted the partially skeletonized body June 11, 1994, near the public boat launch. No one around the busy lake reported seeing or hearing anything. John Doe had been in the water for months, maybe up to a year. He wore Levis, brown high-top work boots and black socks. He probably was in his 20s, slim and likely white. His left collarbone had once been broken. The detectives had little more to track down John Doe's true name. He'd been in the water too long for fingerprints. Photographs wouldn't help to identify him. A sheriff's detective recreated the man's face based on his skull and other anatomical features and composed a sketch of how the man may have looked in life. A DNA sample from John Doe was entered into a national database. Sheriff's Sgt. Gregg Rinta, then a homicide detective, screened more than 100 missing person cases around the country. He ruled out many based on the dead man's extensive and expensive dental work. "Either I missed something or he hasn't ever been reported missing," Rinta said. The investigation stalled. Without knowing the victim's identity, detectives couldn't probe his life for clues about his death. "We're waiting for a name," Rinta said. Meanwhile, the county medical examiner stores John Doe's skeletal remains on a shelf, evidence of a crime. Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com. About this series Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald will publish a story about a case featured on one of the cards. The 52 cards can be viewed on The Herald's Web site, www.heraldnet.com. Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing-persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). Up to a $1,000 reward is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.

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