Four Sought In Woman’s Disappearance

Spokane resident Jim Douglas was incorrectly identified as murder suspect Ray A. Ellis in a Tuesday photo. An actual photo of Ray A. Ellis ran in the article “Police release photo of wrong man”, Wednesday, December 6, 1995.

A 29-year-old woman believed to have been murdered Oct. 28 in the Onion Creek area of Stevens County is related to another murder victim.

Tina Smith, also known as Tina Mann, is the half-sister of Shawnah Mann, 20, who was killed in April 1992.

A former lover, John Duke, then 34, admitted strangling Shawnah Mann near her home at Chewelah, Wash.

Duke is serving a 13-year prison sentence.

Smith also lived in the Chewelah area. Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer said her body hasn’t been found, but his department has strong evidence she was killed at a home in the Onion Creek area between Colville and the Canadian border.

Four suspects had been living in the area for a number of months, the sheriff said.

While Thayer said tips have produced solid leads, the suspects remained at large Monday. They are: John H. Steinkraus, 42; Randall C. Gardner, 37; Ray A. Ellis, 46; and Valerie L. Greenfield, 33.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 1-800-572-0947.

ILLUSTRATION: 4 Photos