0 DNA leads to arrest in 1989 rape, murder of 18-year-old Whatcom County woman 
 
 WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. - After 28 years, an arrest has been made in the murder of a young Whatcom County woman who went for a jog and was never seen alive again. 
 
 On Nov. 24, 1989, 18-year-old Amanda Stavik, who went by Mandy, had taken the family dog with her while she jogged in the rural area. It was the day after Thanksgiving and Mandy was home from college. 
 
 >> PHOTOS: Crime scenes in the disappearance of Mandy Stavik 
 
 Several hours later, the dog returned home, but Mandy did not. Her body was found a few days later in the Nooksack River. She had been raped. 
 
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 The road to the arrest 
 
 Authorities said that over the past 28 years, hundreds of leads emerged and were investigated in the case. As the years passed, the sheriff’s office continued to ask for tips from the community. During the course of the investigation, deputies consulted with forensic experts and renowned homicide investigators, the sheriff's office said. 
 
 Investigators said one of the potential suspects that emerged in recent years was Everson resident Timothy Forrest Bass, who is now 50. He also lived on Strand Road, not far from Mandy’s house. 
 
 Authorities said that over the past 28 years, hundreds of leads emerged and were investigated in the case. Image: KIRO 7 file video 
 
 Bass was arrested Tuesday at his Franz Bakery job for investigation of first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape in the Mandy Stavik case. 
 
 Before his arrest, Bass allegedly bragged about never being caught and outsmarting police. A coworker obtained a soda can discarded by Bass. It was turned into the sheriff's office. 
 
 Deputies sent DNA samples from Bass to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory, which reported that his DNA matched DNA recovered from Mandy’s body in 1989. The lab determined that the probability of a match was 1 in 11 quadrillion. 
 
 Closing the case has been a priority of the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office for nearly three decades. 
 
 "If you commit a murder in Whatcom County, and even though it remains unsolved for a number of years, it remains actively investigated," said Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo. "We will follow any leads necessary to any part of the world to solve it." 
 
 About Mandy 
 
 At the time of her murder, Mandy was a first-year student at Central Washington University and well known in the east Whatcom County community. 
 
 She had graduated from Mount Baker High School earlier in the year and would have celebrated her 46th birthday this year. 
 
 Her mother and other family members asked for privacy while they come to terms with the arrest. 
 
 About Bass 
 
 Bass has no criminal record, but his wife filed a protection order claiming physical and emotional abuse. He refused to give a voluntary DNA sample in the years following the murder. Investigators collected voluntary DNA samples from more than 50 people. 
 
 The Bass' lived near Highway 9, just miles from where Mandy's mother still lives today. 
 
 According to documents filed today in Whatcom County Superior Court, Bass often watched Stavik's basketball games at Mount Baker High in the 80s, even though he was four years ahead of her in school. 
 
 Timothy F Bass 
 
 He was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday. 
 
 Statement from Franz 
 
 Franz Bakery released this statement after Bass' arrest. 
 
 We are saddened by the tragic news regarding Amanda Stavik and the potential involvement of one of our former employees who is alleged to have committed this crime prior to joining our company. Franz Bakery has a long history of supporting and cooperating with law enforcement. While the company recently learned there was an informal request for a DNA sample from this employee several years ago, law enforcement never provided the company with the proper documentation (I.e., search warrant, subpoena) that would have allowed us to provide this information. We are working and cooperating with law enforcement regarding this matter and will continue to do so. 
 
 How you can help 
 
 Anyone with information about Bass that may be helpful to the investigation is asked to contact detectives at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office at 360-778-6600. There is also an automated tip line for existing cases at 360-778-6663 where messages can be left at any time of day or night. 
 
 A call center will be activated immediately after the 1:30 p.m. news conference at the Whatcom Unified Emergency Coordination Center Wednesday. Calls will be taken in person and detectives will be standing by to evaluate information that is received. The number for the call center is 360-788-5303. 
 
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 DNA Leads To Arrest In 28-Year Old Whatcom County Cold Murder Case 
 
 Arrest made in 1989 abduction and murder of Mandy Stavik 
 
 December 14, 2017 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Whatcom County cold-case murder victim Amanda (Mandy) Stavik, as she looked around the time of her death. CLICK TO ENLARGE 
 
 
 
 
 
 Photo of suspect Timothy F. Bass, 50, broadcast by KCPQ-TV news in Seattle. Photo credit: KCPQ-TV. CLICK TO ENLARGE Whatcom County cold-case murder victim Amanda (Mandy) Stavik, as she looked around the time of her death. CLICK TO ENLARGEPhoto of suspect Timothy F. Bass, 50, broadcast by KCPQ-TV news in Seattle. Photo credit: KCPQ-TV. CLICK TO ENLARGE (WHATCOM COUNTY, WA.) -- Once again the long, patient arm of the law has reached out, after untold numbers of dedicated investigators hours over the years, to make an arrest in a murder case so old that many people in Whatcom County may have thought would never be solved. 
 
 
 
 And once again, decades old DNA paved the way for an arrest. 
 
 
 
 On Wednesday, the Whatcom County Sheriff's office announced the arrest of a man they believe was the perpetrator in the 1989 abduction, rape and murder of then 18-year old Amanda (Mandy) Stavik. The man lived near the slain woman. 
 
 
 
 The sheriff's office outlined the developments in that case this way: 
 
 
 
 On November 24th, 1989 at about 1:50 p.m.(the day after Thanksgiving) 18-year old Amanda Stavik left her home on Strand Road to go jogging with the family dog. The dog returned home several hours later, but Mandy did not. 
 
 
 
 After an extensive search, her body was found in the South Fork of the Nooksack River. Year after year went by without an arrest but, "The investigation into the kidnapping, rape and murder of Mandy Stavik has remained a top priority for the Sheriff’s Office," said sheriff Bill Elfo in a statement issued Wednesday. "Over the course of the last 28+ years, hundreds of leads emerged and were systematically investigated. Over the past decades, the community was repeatedly asked for assistance in solving the case. Information was received, pertaining to hundreds of potential suspects and leads that were followed up locally, in other states and foreign countries including Asia. During the course of the investigation, deputies consulted closely with forensic experts and renowned homicide investigators," added Elfo. 
 
 
 
 A suspect arrested 
 
 
 
 Among the potential suspects that emerged in recent years was a man named Timothy F. Bass, now 50 years old of Everson, Washington, a small town of about 2500 people in the county located on the banks of the Nooksack River. 
 
 
 
 At the time of Mandy's murder Bass lived on Strand Road not far from Mandy’s residence. Deputies forwarded DNA samples from Mr. Bass to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory which reported, after testing, that Bass's DNA matched DNA recovered from Mandy’s body in 1989. 
 
 
 
 The Laboratory determined that the match probability was 1 in 11 quadrillion. 
 
 
 
 Bass was arrested by Sheriff’s Office Detectives on Tuesday of this week on suspicion of the First Degree Murder, First Degree Kidnapping and First Degree Rape of Mandy Stavik and remains in the Whatcom County jail. 
 
 
 
 Sheriff Elfo asks that anyone in the community who may have information regarding Timothy Bass that may be helpful to his agency's investigation contact detectives at the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office at (360)778-6600. 
 
 
 
 A call center was activated immediately after a news briefing on Wednesday to discuss the case with reporters. Calls will be taken in person and detectives will be standing by to evaluate information that is received. The number for the call center is (360) 788-5303. 
 
 
 
 Mandy was first year college student when she vanished 
 
 
 
 Sheriff Elfo said at the time of her murder, "Mandy was a bright young first-year student at Central Washington University and well known in the east Whatcom County community. She had graduated from Mount Baker High School earlier in the year. She would have celebrated her 46th birthday this year. Her brutal murder rocked the community and she is still well remembered by many. We hope that this arrest will help bring closure to Mandy’s family and the community." 
 
 
 
 He added that the matter remains an active criminal investigation and noted that members of the Sheriff’s Office "have poured their hearts and souls into this case over the past three decades." 
 
 
 
 He also thanked the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory for the lab's "invaluable assistance over the years." The use of DNA in forensic science was relatively new in 1989. Elfo said the collection and safe storage over the years of the DNA samples that were captured 28 long years ago made solving this murder case possible. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ||||| BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Authorities have arrested a man in connection with the rape and murder of a teenager near Bellingham nearly 30 years ago. 
 
 Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo said DNA evidence led to the arrest of 50-year-old Timothy Bass of Everson on Tuesday, The Bellingham Herald reported . 
 
 Sheriff's detectives arrested Bass on suspicion of murder, kidnapping and rape. He appeared in court Wednesday afternoon where bail was set at $1 million. It wasn't immediately clear if Bass had a lawyer. 
 
 Mandy Stavik vanished in 1989 on the Friday after Thanksgiving while jogging near her home east of Bellingham in Acme. A 1989 graduate of Mount Baker High, Stavik was home on break from her freshman year at Central Washington University. 
 
 When her German shepherd returned home alone, a search for the 18-year-old woman began. 
 
 A volunteer firefighter found her body during a search three days later in the South Fork of the Nooksack River. 
 
 "I think this about the biggest case ever in Whatcom County," Elfo said on Wednesday, adding that detectives have worked the case "doggedly" for years. 
 
 The cause of Stavik's death was listed as not inconsistent with drowning. Authorities said she may have been alive when she was dumped in the river. 
 
 Elfo said Bass was a neighbor of Stavik's at the time. 
 
 Bass was a suspect for several years, but his DNA wasn't obtained until September, Elfo said. Evidence presented in court Wednesday showed that Bass's DNA was obtained through a co-worker. According to the Bellingham Herald, Whatcom County Prosecutor Dave McEachran said that the co-worker gave detectives a plastic glass and Coke can Bass had drank from. 
 
 "Deputies forwarded DNA samples from Mr. Bass to the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory who reported that this DNA matched DNA recovered from Mandy's body in 1989," Elfo said. 
 
 Mount Baker Superintendent Charles Burleigh said Wednesday that the tragic story has resonated through the community. 
 
 "This is something that the Mount Baker community has some very deep feelings about," Burleigh said. "People here are still impacted by that case. To hear that they are making an arrest is big news."
– Home from college for Thanksgiving, 18-year-old Amanda "Mandy" Stavik took her family dog for a jog near Bellingham, Wash., on Nov. 24, 1989. The dog returned home that day, but Stavik's body, showing evidence of rape and possible drowning, was later found in a river. DNA was collected, and in the years after the murder, more than 50 people voluntarily provided DNA samples to police. Timothy Forrest Bass, who lived on the same street as Stavik's family, refused, report KIRO and the Sky Valley Chronicle. Decades later, however, authorities would get the sample they say has solved the case: Bass, 50, who works at a bakery, allegedly bragged about getting away with murder, leading a co-worker to collect a Coke can he discarded, per KIRO and CBS News. Police say DNA taken from the can matches DNA from Stavik's body. Bass, who now lives in Everson, Wash., was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and rape, per the Bellingham Herald. His bail has been set at $1 million. Authorities say he has no criminal record, though his wife filed a protection order against Bass in 2010, accusing him of physical and emotional abuse. According to court documents, she said Bass told her "people have made me so angry before and I can see why people murder other people." His wife also said Bass watched TV shows about cold cases and once told her, "I wouldn't get caught because I'm not that stupid. It would be easy to get away with it." Bass' wife filed for divorce around the same time. Both the divorce filing and protection order were retracted months later when the pair reconciled. (This alleged killer was arrested after spitting on a sidewalk.)