SEATTLE _ The remains of a 4-year-old girl were found inside a plastic-tote bag filled with concrete at an Everett, Wash., home last week, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said.
An investigation by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office determined the child's approximate age, while the sheriff's office says the remains are about 4years old. The child's identity, as well as the cause and manner of her death, remain under investigation, the department said.
Detectives with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office discovered the remains on Saturday while serving a search warrant at a home in the 12600 block of East Gibson Road.
The department began investigating in October after receiving a tip from a relative of the girl expressing concern about the child's apparent disappearance.
Other members of the girl's extended family told investigators they believed the girl died while under supervision of her biological mother, the department said.
According to investigators, the mother and her then-boyfriend "panicked" after finding the child dead. Instead of reporting the death, relatives told officers the couple placed the child's body in a container inside their home at 15800 Admiralty Way. The couple poured concrete into the container after the body began to decompose, the department said.
The two then kept the container for several years after the incident, subsequently moving it to a relative's residence after leaving the residence at Admiralty Way, the department said.
In the years since, the child's mother gave family members differing accounts of how her daughter died, the department said. Despite telling her family, the woman never reported the girl's death to authorities, the department said.
No arrests have been made and the circumstances surrounding the girl's death and the disposal of her body remain under investigation, the department said.
