Murder Mystery: Seattle detectives, family still seek justice for teen kidnapped and killed in 1994

SEATTLE -- Evil. Psychopath. Without a conscience: That's how police are describing whoever snatched a 14-year-old girl off the street in Seattle and murdered her.

Now, 23 years later, her family refuses to give up hope her killer can be found as the case is getting a fresh new look from a homicide detective.

In July 1994, ‘All-4-One’ one topped the music charts, ‘The Chamber’ by John Grisham was #1 on the Best Seller's list and people were still talking about OJ Simpson's run from police in the white Bronco -- when 14 year old Tanya Frazier went missing from Meany Middle School in Capitol Hill.



Her mom, Theresa, says after summer school, Tanya would take the bus to work at the Chicken Soup Brigade thrift shop at 25th and Jackson. She never made it. 'It`s just hard to believe that it happened in an area that I thought was safe. She was down a ravine about 50 feet or so."

Five days later, a neighbor walking his dog found her body.

Seattle Police homicide Det. Rolf Norton remembers the case well. He had just started the police academy. 'It`s unacceptable for our community. It`s just not okay,’ said Norton.

Tanya had been stabbed to death. Her body left next to a tree at the bottom of a steep hill on E. Highland Dr. in the Interlaken neighborhood, about a half mile from volunteer park. 'It`s out of the way. It`s not visible from the street. You almost have to stick your head in there to know this little spot exists,” said Norton.

For a long time, it was almost unbearable to talk about her daughter's murder, but Theresa tried hard to keep the case in the headlines. “Pretty much the worse day. Something a parent never wants to see or hear. Why? Why would you take this innocent person?

Tanya's sister, Teara, was just 12 years old at the time. “I want people to be aware that this is still unsolved. We still need help,” she said.

A lot has changed at Meany Middle School since Tanya was killed in 1994. It`s currently under renovation and closed for now. She was last seen there on July 18th. Her classmates in summer school said she was talking to a suspicious male, but detectives don`t know if he was involved in her death. “There were a lot of leads that got followed up on,” said Norton. “Some leads that I  don`t think are closed. Some individual’s names came up that I`m still very suspicious of.'

1994 was the same year Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound started making posters, including one for Tanya's case. Now, Retired Seattle Det. Myrle Carner is back out asking for the public's help. “Let`s end the agony of what the family feels, of what the friends feel,’ said Carner. “1994 seems like forever, but really somebody has been carrying this for a long time and now`s the time to come forward."

Any information will help, but  what they  really need is a tip with a suspect's name. Detectives did collect forensic evidence from the scene, but need somebody to match it to. “Tanya`s killer is still out there,” says Det. Norton. “He was never addressed. Someone knows something. Someone spoke to someone. Someone made admissions. There are pieces of information out there that haven`t been shared with us and that`s what we need.”
“You never know who it is,” said Tanya’s sister. “Are they still around us? Is it somebody that we know? Is it somebody in our life still? I don`t know who it is and it makes you not trust many people.”

Tanya's family doesn't know what they would say to the killer. It's been so long without any answers, but it's an opportunity they would welcome. “She never did anything to anybody,” said her sister. “Why? What was the point of this? This happened in broad daylight. Somebody has to know. I can`t imagine this killer is that smart. There has to be somebody that knows something.

So, maybe you were just a teen at the time Tanya was killed and didn't come forward and now you are in your 30's and think you may have some information to help or maybe you've been sitting on something you overheard all those years ago -- please come forward and give the information to Crime Stoppers. It is anonymous. Nobody will know it came from you.

Call the hot line at 1-800-222-TIPS or use the P3 Tips App. There is a $1,000 reward for any information that can help catch her killer.