For more than 30 years, the loved ones of Tanya Marie Frazier have wanted nothing more than answers.
Tanya, who was 14 years old, vanished on July 18, 1994. She had just left a summer school class at Meany Middle School when she went missing.
Her body was found by a man walking his dog in the 2200 block of East Highland Drive, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Tanya was found only blocks away from where she was last seen.
Last night, Seattle Police Homicide investigators reached out to Tanya’s family with the news they have waited more than three decades to hear – an arrest has been made.
Mark Anthony Russ, 57, was linked to Tanya’s murder through DNA. Russ, who was recently released from prison, was booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Homicide.
“Multiple generations of investigators and scientists have worked on this case for over three decades,” said Seattle Police Det. Rolf Norton. “Today is not a day for celebration; it’s a day to reflect on Tanya Frazier and her surviving family as they continue to grieve for their daughter, sister, and aunt. Our thoughts go out to them.”
More than 30 years ago, Tanya’s murder shook the community. According to media reports, she had attended St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Seattle’s Mount Baker neighborhood, worked part-time at the Chicken Soup Brigade, an organization providing meals for people in need, and had just graduated from Washington Middle School. She was set to attend high school that fall.
Russ is expected to have an initial court hearing today at 2 p.m. For more information about this case, please reach out the King County Prosecutor’s Office and the Washington State Department of Corrections.