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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Remains those of Tacoma man missing since 1985

Adam Pearson The (Centraila, Wash.) Chronicle
The Lewis (Wash.) County Sheriff’s Office has identified the person whose remains were found in late March on an old logging road north of Mineral, Wash., as a Tacoma man who went missing in 1985. The fully intact skull of Michael Lloyd Riemer, 36, was found by a hiker on March 26. “At least we can rule out a gunshot wound to the head,” Stacy Brown, a chief deputy with the sheriff’s office, said. No other bones or clothing were found at the scene in a follow-up investigation. Riemer’s remains were discovered about a mile from where his girlfriend’s remains were found February 1986. Both Riemer and Diana Robertson, also of Pierce County, were reported missing December 1985. Robertson was 21. The couple’s daughter, Crystal Robertson, was found Dec. 13, 1985, wandering in a Kmart store in Spanaway. She was 2. When asked where her parents were, Crystal Robertson reportedly told police “Mommy is in the trees.” The family had reportedly left the day before Crystal was found to look for a Christmas tree. Riemer was also known to be a fur trapper, who also worked as a roofer, and had lines along the Nisqually River. Brown said Crystal Robertson has no real memory of the events that led to her parents’ disappearance other than the statement she made to police. She also has no interest in talking to media, Brown said. Diana Robertson was found Feb. 18, 1986. She had been stabbed 17 times and had a sock tied around her neck. Riemer’s 1982 Plymouth truck had been found near Robertson’s body on a snow-covered logging road. The words “I Love You, Diana,” were found written on a large manila envelope under the truck’s windshield. The Riemer and Robertson case was featured on the TV show “Unsolved Mysteries” in 1989.