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<< Previous   of   Next >> Darren Breen / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Playing cards with photographs of cold case victims issued to inmates to help solve the crimes. Katherine Lynn Dobson is on the queen of spades.  Photo Gallery: Cold Case Cards   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Woman's slaying still unsolved despite twist 1/4/09 • Reuben Lewis went missing in early 1991 12/28/08 • '93 slaying hangs over mother's life 12/21/08 • Young couple's slaying confounds detective 12/14/08 • Young mother was fatally shot in her home 11/30/08 • Mother looks to God after daughter is slain 11/23/08 • Cold case: Mother still has hope for missing daughter 11/16/08 • Mother's pain still fresh 25 years after daughter's death 11/9/08 • Cold Case: Hope persists that woman will be found 11/2/08 • Mother longs for answers in son's death 10/26/08 • God replaces fear for slaying victim's sister 10/19/08 • Cold Case: 'There was no reason' for death 10/5/08 • Man was helping others at time of his death 9/28/08 • Cold Case: Detectives don't believe mother's disappearance in '94 was voluntary 9/21/08 • Lack of evidence in '95 slaying blocked trial 9/14/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, October 12, 2008 Police believe '91 slaying was drug related By Diana Hefley Herald Writer EVERETT -- Lynn McKee misses the phone calls. Her daughter, Kathy Dobson, could lift her spirits with a simple "Hi, Mom." Her energy flooded across the phone line. McKee could hear the smile in her daughter's voice. "She always had a smile on her face. It didn't matter if it was early in the morning or late at night," McKee said. The phone calls stopped 17 years ago. Dobson's skeletal remains were found, discarded in an illegal garbage dump near Picnic Point in Edmonds. Dobson, who family members say just as often went by her maiden name Dawson, is featured in the state's first cold-case deck of playing cards. She is on the queen of spades. Snohomish County sheriff's detectives hope the card will generate leads to help them arrest and prosecute whoever killed Dobson, 24. The decks of playing cards have been provided to jail and prison inmates across the state. Investigators hope someone will come forward with tips about unsolved homicides and missing persons cases dating back to the 1970s. McKee believes her daughter's lifestyle led to her death. Dobson took up residence in the dark world of drugs among hardened, violent criminals. "That's a hard life," McKee said. "There's no way out except jail or death." Dobson considered herself gutsy and street-smart. She also knew she wanted better for her children, a girl, then 8, and a boy, 4. A few months before her disappearance in June 1991 she asked her brother to take the kids into his home. She loved her children. She would have been so proud of them now, McKee said. McKee knew something was wrong when Dobson didn't show up for her daughter's birthday party. Her fear was confirmed in February 1992 when her daughter's remains were uncovered. Two men were arrested for Dobson's killing after informants told Snohomish County sheriff's detectives the men bragged about being paid by Yakima-based drug traffickers to murder her. A rumor had been circulating that Dobson was a snitch, working with local police. The men were set free after prosecutors decided they didn't have enough evidence to file charges against the pair in Snohomish County Superior Court. McKee would like to know who took her daughter's life. She hopes someone will step forward with answers. "I didn't always agree with the choices she made, but I loved my daughter for the person she was," McKee said. Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com. About this series Snohomish County sheriff's detectives created the state's first deck of cold-case playing cards. Each Sunday for a year, The Herald is publishing a story about a case featured on one of the cards. The 52 cards can be viewed at www.heraldnet.com. Anyone with information about unsolved homicides or missing persons cases is asked to call 800-222-TIPS (8477). Up to a $1,000 reward is offered. Tips also can be left on the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845. Callers may remain anonymous, although tips have been more successful when callers speak with detectives, police said.

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