WENATCHEE, Wash. - The FBI has joined the Chelan County sheriff's office in searching for a 17-year-old girl last seen Tuesday afternoon leaving a beauty school class in Wenatchee.
Sheriff's spokesman Jerry Moore says the car driven by McKenzie Cowell was found Tuesday night in a driveway in the Pitcher Canyon area near Mission Ridge, about 50 miles from her home in Orondo. Moore says her purse and some clothes were found in the car, but her debit card is missing.
Sheriff's deputies searched the area on the ground with a tracking dog overnight and from the air Wednesday by helicopter.
Moore says a team of 10 detectives are searching the Pitcher Canyon area today. They are also interviewing and re-interviewing all of Mackenzie's friends and family. Mackenzie's mother and the mother's boyfriend are also being interviewed by the FBI.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Harum, while not giving any specifics, says the situation is "very, very suspicious."
Mackenzie is now listed as an endangered missing person with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Mackenzie is described as about 5'8" tall and weighs 110 pounds. She has brown eyes and brown hair. She has braces. Both of her ears are pierced.
