After Nine Years, No New Leads in Search for Missing Tenino Mom

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Note: This story was originally published in 2016. It has been updated only to reflect that two more years have passed in the case. 

Another year has passed, and detectives still don’t know what happened to a Tenino woman last seen nine years ago.

Nancy Moyer, 36 at the time, was last seen on March 6, 2009. Two days later, her husband found the front door of her home open, her car parked in the driveway and her purse still in the house, but Moyer was gone.

“Somebody knows. Somebody knows something, but unfortunately no one has come to us and said something,” said Detective Ben Elkins, of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

While Moyer’s body has never been found, Elkins, who investigates major crimes at the Sheriff’s Office, said he believes she is dead, and said he classifies the case as a “no-body homicide.”

Elkins took over the case about three years ago, and has since re-interviewed many of the witnesses originally contacted by investigators.

“Nancy has not had any activity, bank account information, family contact. She basically disappeared from the earth … which is not normal,” Elkins said.

Detectives have looked into the possibility that Moyer just left her life behind, but Elkins said that doesn’t make sense in this case.

“She left her purse, what gal leaves their purse when they go somewhere? There was a lot of things that the evidence showed that’s inconsistent with her up and leaving,” he said. “She wouldn’t have just left her kids. I think someone killed her, is my belief.”

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office does not have a dedicated cold case unit, but assigns cold cases to detectives to work on as they have spare time.

“I know that particular case has been through three different detectives,” said Sgt. Tim Rudloff, of the Sheriff’s Office Investigative Services Division. “We always try to keep fresh eyes looking at it.”

Despite his efforts, Elkins said he hasn’t been able to find any new leads in the case.

“I have information that I have to follow up on, but nothing strong that’s giving me a positive hope that this is my person,” he said.

While it’s possible to prove a homicide case without finding a body, Elkins said they could really use a tip that leads to Moyer’s body.

“That would be the breaker,” he said. “If we could find her, the biggest thing (is) the family would have closure.”

To provide information on the case, call Elkins at (360) 786-5279 or contact Crime Stoppers of Lewis or Thurston County.

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Information from a previous Chronicle article was used in this story.