PORTLAND, Ore. — Staff members at a Southeast Portland thrift shop say 89-year-old Marcine Herinck was seen at the shop on Sept. 18, along with the man who has now been charged with her murder.
Herinck was reported missing the next day by her family.
According to the police bureau, detectives learned new information on Sept. 24, suggesting foul play was involved in Herinck's disappearance.
Timothy Mackley, 58, was pulled over by police near SE 92nd Avenue and Holgate Boulevard. Officers found a woman's body in the trunk of Mackley's car, police said. The medical examiner said the victim died of homicidal violence. Identifying the body was "complicated," police said, but investigators were confident enough to declare it was likely Herinck.
Herinck volunteered at Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS), a food pantry and thrift shop in Northeast Portland.
Executive Director Mark Fulop told KGW that said Herinck was there on Sept. 18, the last day she was was seen, and Mackley was seen in the store that day as well.
"Marcine brought a wit, a humor, a presence of compassion to all those she interacted with," said Fulop. "If we were to choose the kind of volunteer we want at PACS, Marcine was the kind of person we wanted at PACS because she got the DNA of compassion."
The car Mackley was driving is registered to an apartment near Southeast 157th Avenue and Stark Street, less than two miles from where Herinck lived. Neighbors said Mackley lived there for a few months and described him as odd.
“I got a weird vibe, I got a weird vibe,” said a neighbor named Joseph. “That’s why I kept my distance from him. Even told my lady, ‘That one’s weird. Better stay away from him. Don’t even interact with him or anything.’”
Mackley, who is also a Level 3 sex offender, appeared in court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to murder. He's expected to be back in court on Oct. 4.