2021-05-23 - Cold Case Thawed (Exposition)

A feature article on the front page of the Gazette. Byline - Jessica Flores

A Cold Case Thawed?

People disappearing without trace in Grey Harbor is, unfortunately, not an unusual thing. For most it is simply a choice to move on without a word. For some, far too many, it is a mystery that remains unsolved. And such mysteries are usually shrugged at by the citizens of our town as they move on with their lives, too concerned with their own needs to afford empathy for others. But every now and then, there is a disappearance that touches people in this town. The disappearance of Addison McNeely is one of those.

The year is 2000. Y2K did not bother to arrive, and life was proceeding as normal. But for the McNeelys, it was soon to become the worst year of their lives. That was the year that eighteen-year-old Addison McNeely disappeared without trace. For weeks, the citizens and authorities of Grey Harbor searched the town and environs for any sign of the young woman. Forests and beaches were combed, inlets were dragged, caves investigated, but there was no trace of the girl.

The McNeely Foundation was founded to raise money to assist in the search for missing children. Searches that went on long after the police had given up. Over $350,000 spent on the search for Addison alone. Eventually, most people lost interest and accepted the worst so they could return to their own lives and hold their own children a little closer for a little while. The girl was gone, and no one would ever know how.

Or would they?

Last month, an anonymous tip led police to an area that had been searched repeatedly, but this time they found the body of eighteen-year-old Addison McNeely. Though the body was only slightly decomposed after twenty years in the ground, DNA identification was used to confirm the identity of the girl.

Other DNA was also found. That of Addison’s half-brother, Benjamin McNeely, thirty-eight. Enough that he has been arrested for the kidnapping and strangulation murder of his half-sister. A girl he spent weeks and months looking for in 2000. His DNA found in grey hairs located on Addison’s body, yet he was only eighteen when his half-sister died. Photos from 2000 showing no trace of grey in his hair.

For now, Benjamin McNeely is in the hands of our local police force, being pressured to confess in return for a plea deal. As our readers well know, this is de rigueur for the authorities of Gray Harbor; irregularities with evidence, disregarded alibis, selective witness statements, all ignored in the pursuit of a conviction and a chance to smile on local television.

Benjamin McNeely may indeed have killed his sister but are we rushing to put a local horror behind us rather than finding the truth?