Bellingham PD: 1987 Bellingham Steam Plant John Doe

Dear Robert Delaware: Please note that while staff continue to provide the fullest assistance to all requestors, our response times may be delayed due to staffing shortages across the city as a result of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Your patience is very much appreciated.

Thank you for your interest in public records of Belligham Police Department. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the State of Washington Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW. Your request was received in this office on 10/2/2024 and given the reference number P024160-100224 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All documents, dispatch logs, incident reports, follow-up reports, copies of medical examiner's reports or photographs, or anything that could be construed as a "case file" or "case documents" or "relevant documents" related to the discovery of the skeletal remains of an unidentified decedent (likely) male discovered in a steam plant in Bellingham on September 20th of 1987. Please include a search for any electronic communication (to or from) either NCIC or WACIC related to these unidentified remains.

The Bellingham PD agency case number is: 87B-24528

Thank you for taking the time to review this request for relevant documents, and thank you to the Bellingham Police Department for the department's commitment to transparency. I am involved in open-source investigations into unidentified decedent cases and this request is being filed in the public interest.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Delaware

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/
Not all public documents are available in electronic format. If the document(s) requested are not available electronically, we will make them available for inspection or by paper copy in accordance with the Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW.

Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question. PLEASE NOTE: The State of Washington Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW, does not require a governmental body to create new information, to do legal research, or to answer questions.

You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed. Again, thank you for using the Public Records Center.
Bellingham Police Department
To monitor the progress or update this request please log into the Public Records Center

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of October 02, 2024, Reference # P024160-100224

Dear Robert Delaware,

The Bellingham Police Department received a public records request from you on October 02, 2024. You requested the following:
"To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All documents, dispatch logs, incident reports, follow-up reports, copies of medical examiner's reports or photographs, or anything that could be construed as a "case file" or "case documents" or "relevant documents" related to the discovery of the skeletal remains of an unidentified decedent (likely) male discovered in a steam plant in Bellingham on September 20th of 1987. Please include a search for any electronic communication (to or from) either NCIC or WACIC related to these unidentified remains.

The Bellingham PD agency case number is: 87B-24528

Thank you for taking the time to review this request for relevant documents, and thank you to the Bellingham Police Department for the department's commitment to transparency. I am involved in open-source investigations into unidentified decedent cases and this request is being filed in the public interest.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Delaware

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request and to provide a reasonable estimate of the time the City will need to respond to it. The City needs additional time to locate and assemble the records requested and to determine whether any of the requested records are exempt and that a denial should be made as to all or part of the request. For these reasons, I estimate that the City will need approximately 10 weeks in order to respond to your request.

Please note that the police department may also exercise its right to provide the responsive records in installments as they become available.

You may contact Police Records at dalmer@cob.org (preferred) or call (360)778-8641, if you have any questions about this request.

Sincerely,
Bellingham Police Records Division

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of October 02, 2024, Reference # P024160-100224.

Dear Robert Delaware,

I am writing in response to your request for the following public records:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All documents, dispatch logs, incident reports, follow-up reports, copies of medical examiner's reports or photographs, or anything that could be construed as a "case file" or "case documents" or "relevant documents" related to the discovery of the skeletal remains of an unidentified decedent (likely) male discovered in a steam plant in Bellingham on September 20th of 1987. Please include a search for any electronic communication (to or from) either NCIC or WACIC related to these unidentified remains.

The Bellingham PD agency case number is: 87B-24528

Thank you for taking the time to review this request for relevant documents, and thank you to the Bellingham Police Department for the department's commitment to transparency. I am involved in open-source investigations into unidentified decedent cases and this request is being filed in the public interest.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Delaware

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

We are notifying you that the City will be responding to your request in installments.  The first installment of records is available for you to review or download. Please log in to the Public Records Center at the following link to retrieve electronic copies of the records. Records will not be viewable on cell phones, please access on a tablet or computer.
Police Department Records Request - P024160-100224

We continue to process your request and anticipate that the next installment of records including the photos will be available on or before 12/12/2024.
Sincerely,
Bellingham Police Records Division

--- Please respond above this line ---

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of October 02, 2024, Reference # P024160-100224.

Dear Robert Delaware,

I am writing [again] in response to your request for the following public records:
“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All documents, dispatch logs, incident reports, follow-up reports, copies of medical examiner's reports or photographs, or anything that could be construed as a "case file" or "case documents" or "relevant documents" related to the discovery of the skeletal remains of an unidentified decedent (likely) male discovered in a steam plant in Bellingham on September 20th of 1987. Please include a search for any electronic communication (to or from) either NCIC or WACIC related to these unidentified remains.

The Bellingham PD agency case number is: 87B-24528

Thank you for taking the time to review this request for relevant documents, and thank you to the Bellingham Police Department for the department's commitment to transparency. I am involved in open-source investigations into unidentified decedent cases and this request is being filed in the public interest.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Delaware

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

We previously notified you that the City would be responding to your request in installments.  An  installment of photos is available for you to review or download. Please log in to the Public Records Center at the following link to retrieve electronic copies of the records. Records will not be viewable on cell phones, please access on a tablet or computer.
Police Department Records Request - P024160-100224

If you have any questions about our response, please reach out to Police Records at dalmer@cob.org (preferred) or call (360)778-8641.
Sincerely,
Ruth Baker
Evidence Specialist

--- Please respond above this line ---

RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of October 02, 2024, Reference # P024160-100224.

Dear Robert Delaware,

I am writing in response to your request for the following public records:

“To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Washington Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

All documents, dispatch logs, incident reports, follow-up reports, copies of medical examiner's reports or photographs, or anything that could be construed as a "case file" or "case documents" or "relevant documents" related to the discovery of the skeletal remains of an unidentified decedent (likely) male discovered in a steam plant in Bellingham on September 20th of 1987. Please include a search for any electronic communication (to or from) either NCIC or WACIC related to these unidentified remains.

The Bellingham PD agency case number is: 87B-24528

Thank you for taking the time to review this request for relevant documents, and thank you to the Bellingham Police Department for the department's commitment to transparency. I am involved in open-source investigations into unidentified decedent cases and this request is being filed in the public interest.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Robert Delaware

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

City staff have reviewed our files and located records responsive to your request. We have also carefully reviewed the records for information that is exempt from public inspection and copying under the law. We have redacted the records where appropriate in order to protect personal privacy or vital governmental interests. The records provided include a brief explanation for the information that has been withheld.
Please log in to Public Records Center to retrieve electronic copies of the records. Records will not be viewable on cell phones, please access on a tablet or computer.

Police Department Records Request - P024160-100224
If you have any questions about our response, or if you believe there are additional responsive records that were not disclosed, please contact Police Records at dalmer@cob.org (preferred) or call (360)778-8641.  Alternatively, you may contact the City's Public Records Officer, Sarah Chaplin, at (360) 778-8270, within 14 days of this notice so that we may follow up with you.
We have completed processing your request, and we will not be providing any additional records to you. Accordingly, our response to your request is now complete. Please note that you may seek judicial review of our response to your public records request within one year from the date of this notice.
Sincerely,
Bellingham Police Records Division