Community Police & Fire

Deputies seek footage from vicinity of house where bodies were found following fire

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office investigators are looking for any security footage that might have captured suspicious activity or traffic along 14th Avenue NW and 160th Street SE on the evening of Tuesday, April 8. 

That was the night two bodies were found following a fire at a home on the 15600 block of 14th Avenue, which is off Crescent Valley Road close to the Kitsap County line. 

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deputy Carly Cappetto said Wednesday that at least one of the victims did not die as a result of the fire or by natural causes.  

Investigators are specifically looking for footage from between 7:15 and 8:15 p.m. that night. The fire was reported around 8 p.m. Tuesday. 

Click here to upload footage. 

“I can confirm that at this point the death is suspicious, and is not believed to be a result of the fire,” Pierce County Deputy Stephen Cloninger wrote in an email to Gig Harbor Now. “Our Criminal Investigations Bureau is working diligently on this case, and we appreciate any assistance the public can provide in regards to our request for residents to come forward with any surveillance footage or reports of suspicious activity in the area.” 

Investigators at the scene of a fire on 14th Avenue NW on Wednesday, April 9. Two people were found dead following the fire. Photo by Vince Dice

88th Avenue fire started in garage 

A second fire that evening, on the 4400 block of 88th Avenue in the Arletta area, appears to have started in the home’s garage near its electrical panel, according to Pierce County Fire Marshal Ken Rice.

“There was so much damage, we couldn’t get down to exactly what happened,” Rice said. “But the area was definitely in the corner of the garage where the electric panel was.” 

Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One took one person to a hospital following that fire. 

Friends of the homeowners established a GoFundMe campaign to support the displaced family. As of Friday afternoon, donors had raised $12,000 toward a $20,000 goal.