Bodies found in King County believed to be missing Enumclaw teens



ENUMCLAW, Wash. -- Two bodies found Tuesday morning are believed to be the two teens who went missing from Enumclaw on Saturday, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

Austin Grote, 18, and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Aleecia McAskill, were last seen Saturday, Feb. 1, at Safeway in Enumclaw at 2:45 p.m.

Austin's car was found off Mud Mountain Road. The sheriff's office referred to them as "missing hikers."

Loved ones and search and rescue crews have been looking for the teens since Sunday.

“It’s just unbelievable," said Megan Rutherford, Aleecia’s sister. “I didn’t think this was going to happen. I thought that maybe they just got lost hiking”

“She’s always been my baby," said Aleecia's father Frank Vareschi. “It’s a loss man, it’s a loss. You just can’t get back.”

Investigators said there was no sign of foul play.

“The area that they were located is upriver from the dam," said Sgt. Jason Stanley, King County Sheriff’s Office. "And therefore, the area that they were located could have been flooded at the time that they were down in that area. And only over the last day-and-a-half had the water started to recede enough to search that area.”