Kino Michael Gomez, 57 and a Seattle city engineer, was last officially seen in Okanogan, Washington, on July 30, 2009, after failing to appear for arraignment on a second-degree murder charge. The charge followed a July 17, 2009, incident at the Blue Spruce Motel in Twisp where Gomez fired a handgun through a motel door, fatally wounding Thomas Pfaeffle, who had mistakenly tried the wrong room. Gomez had been released on $100,000 bail with instructions to keep authorities advised of his whereabouts but did not comply, prompting an arrest warrant.

In early September 2009 Gomez’s family received a note appearing to be a suicide letter in which he said he felt prejudged and intended a one-way trip to the mountains. Searches for Gomez and his vehicle were unsuccessful, and investigators have considered that he may have left the country, possibly for the Philippines. The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation.