Police search for clues after body of missing local artist was found in popular Seattle park

SEATTLE - Detectives are asking the public's help after a missing woman’s body was discovered in a popular Seattle park. 

Loved ones say though she was a Texas native, Necia McKendrick-Mendez felt most at home in Seattle. Necia lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and was making a mark there with her artwork. 

"I don't know where she found that passion to paint. It takes me so long to find the willingness to be creative, but she just oozed it," said Necia’s daughter, Saphire Mendez. 

Life was good when Saphire visited her mother in April. But not long after sapphire returned home, everything changed. "She wasn’t answering her phone anymore," says Saphire. 

Family members worried, but hoped Necia had just lost her phone, something she’d done before. "I got a call with a 206 number and I was so excited. I was like ‘Oh my God, mom is calling me I can't wait to hear her voice!' I was so excited [that] I left dinner and everything. And then I realized it was a detective on the phone." 

The detective had earth-shattering news for Saphire: Necia’s body was found over Memorial Day weekend in a secluded area off of Interlaken Park in Seattle. Her daughter says the investigator said it was clear, she had been murdered. 

"I had to be the one to tell my grammy she lost her daughter," Saphire said, recalling the anguish from that night. 

"It just killed me, it really really killed me," says Necia’s mother, Ramond Boyd. 

Family says near Necia’s body, some of her treasured artwork was found scattered. Every day without answers only adds to the family’s agony of a life stolen. "My biggest concern is this happening to somebody else," says Saphire. 

"At this point we have no video, no credible witnesses, but somebody knows who did this," says Jim Fuda, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound. 

Seattle Police Detectives say they really need the public’s help in solving this case. You can submit a tip anonymously through crime stoppers by using the P3 tips app or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS. If your tip helps lead to an arrest you will get one thousand dollars cash no questions asked, and help give her family the answers they desperately need.