Spokane teen girl found dead in Yakima County homicide

The victim in a suspected homicide whose body was found last month in Yakima County was a 17-year-old Spokane girl, deputies said.

KHQ, citing Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice, reported the deceased was Samantha Kalinchuk.

A property owner on the 600 block of Farm Lane near Mabton called the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office April 30 saying he smelled something foul on his property and then located a body, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

An autopsy conducted the next day determined the girl died from a gunshot wound to the head, the sheriff’s office said. Detectives are investigating the death as a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (509) 574-2500 or (800) 572-0490. Tips, including anonymous ones, can also be called into Crime Stoppers of Yakima County at (509) 248-9980 or (800) 248-9980.

Tips can also be submitted online at yakima.crimestoppersweb.com.