Lydia Varo-Braschler

Do you know who killed 13 year old Lydia Varo-Braschler in 2001?
Lydia Varo-Braschler was a creative and trusting 13-year-old girl from Friendship, Wisconsin, who loved to draw and spend time with her family. She was known for her artistic talent and her kind, open nature. In the summer of 2001, Lydia was on a trip far from her small hometown, visiting her aunt and cousins in the Big Lake area of Skagit County, Washington. It was a chance to connect with relatives and experience a different part of the country, but the summer vacation would end in a tragedy that her family and community are still grappling with decades later.

On the afternoon of July 2, 2001, Lydia left her aunt’s home in the 15000 block of State Route 9. She was planning to walk to a nearby convenience store, a short trip she intended to make alone. When she did not come back, her family grew worried and reported her missing. Her disappearance triggered an immediate and extensive search by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office and search and rescue teams. For days, they scoured the rural landscape, but the young girl seemed to have vanished without a trace, leaving her loved ones in a state of agonizing uncertainty.

For nine long months, Lydia’s whereabouts remained a painful mystery. Her family held onto hope, but the search for the missing teenager came to a devastating conclusion on April 17, 2002. A woman who was out searching for mushrooms made a grim discovery over an embankment off Lake Cavanaugh Road, about two miles east of Highway 9 and roughly six miles from where Lydia had last been seen. The human remains were carefully recovered from the wooded, secluded area.

The Skagit County Coroner’s Office soon confirmed the family’s worst fears: the remains belonged to Lydia Varo-Braschler. An autopsy revealed that the young girl had not died by accident or misadventure. The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head, and her case was officially classified as a homicide. The heartbreaking discovery transformed a missing person case into a murder investigation, leaving a grieving family to plan a funeral instead of a welcome home.

Detectives with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office immediately began investigating the killing. They pursued numerous leads and interviewed dozens of people, trying to piece together Lydia's final hours. One of her cousins was among the last people to see her alive and was questioned by authorities, but he reportedly passed several polygraph tests and was not named a suspect. Investigators also collected DNA evidence from the scene where Lydia’s body was found. Despite running this evidence through national databases in both the United States and Canada, no matches have ever been identified.

Over the years, the investigation into Lydia's murder has grown cold, but her family has never stopped seeking justice. They believe that because Lydia came from a small, trusting community, her friendly nature may have been tragically exploited by her killer. Her mother and aunts have made public pleas for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. They are certain that someone in the community holds the key to solving the case and bringing them a measure of peace. A small, simple cross was placed as a memorial near the location where her body was found, a quiet reminder of the young life that was violently cut short. As of today, Lydia Varo-Braschler's murder remains one of Skagit County's most haunting unsolved homicides, with no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified.