LAS VEGAS — The remains of a missing Washington woman were found in the Nevada desert, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), and a professional basketball player is among those accused in her murder.
Marayna Rodgers, 23, is from Lynnwood, and police said she was last seen out with friends during a trip to Las Vegas.
On Dec. 5, Rodgers had arranged to meet with her 19-year-old friend, Sakari Harnden, and Harnden's boyfriend, 27-year-old Chance Comanche, according to Las Vegas police.
Rodgers had not been seen or heard from since, and was reported missing on Dec. 7.
Detectives said they then suspected foul play and gathered evidence to arrest Harnden and Comanche "for their role in the kidnapping and disappearance of Rodgers."
Harnden was arrested on Dec. 13 and booked into jail on kidnapping charges, according to the LVMPD news release. Comanche was arrested two days later in Sacramento, California and is pending extradition to Nevada also for kidnapping, according to LVMPD.
Comanche is a former player for the Stockton Kings, an NBA G League affiliate team of the Sacramento Kings; he was released by the team last Friday, according to the team's website, which was the same day as his arrest.
With information from the suspects, detectives found human remains in a desert near Henderson, Nevada, which were identified by the Clark County Coroner’s Office as Rodgers.
"The charges for both individuals will be amended to open murder through coordination with the Clark County District Attorney's office," according to LVMPD.
According to jail records, Comanche is next expected in Sacramento County court Tuesday, Dec. 19. A preliminary hearing for Harnden is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 28, court records show.
"They did a really good job — with working very quietly, might I add — to where they knew exactly where they were going for, and obviously they had enough evidence," said Deserae Corbin with the Dock Ellis Foundation. Her organization's mission is to help bring home missing people of color.
Corbin said she believes news media outlets need to do a better job of informing the public about missing people of color.
"It's so sad because this is where you come to have fun," Corbin said of Las Vegas. "This is where you come to enjoy yourself."
Corbin's colleague, Las Vegas Valley local James Meriweather, said this comes after a string of crimes in Las Vegas in recent years, where a professional athlete is named as a suspect.
"It's actually been added to the litany of cases where we've seen public figures have some very shady, shady alter egos or background personalities who are doing very-much-illegal things outside of their public social persona," said Meriweather. "This was a person that has these resources. And when you have more resources, you're able to do more things and more access to things that regular people, which then allows you to invoke your power in more harming ways than the average individual."
According to the Dock Ellis Foundation, nearly 40% of missing persons cases "are usually from someone of a Black and brown community, yet we only make up 13% of the population."
Heartbroken by the news of her death, Rodgers' family said they were not yet ready to talk with KING 5.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the LVMPD homicide section at 702-828-3521 or by emailing homicide@lvmpd.com.