Police: 'person of interest' sought in death of girl

CLARK COUNTY, Wash. - Authorities on Sunday were searching for a person of interest after a 13-year-old girl was found dead in an overgrown field in the Hazel Dell area near her home.

According to the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Alycia D. Nipp was walking home from a Goodwill Store at 1600 N.E. 78th St. with a friend about 5 p.m. Saturday when she decided to take a shortcut through the field, located north of the store. Her friend did not feel comfortable going with her, and so Nipp went by herself, the sheriff's office said.

The girl never returned home, however, and her mother reported the disappearance about 1 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.
 
While deputies were at the home, the girl's stepfather was out looking for her. He discovered the girl's body about 2:30 a.m. in a wooded area in the field located about 200 yards east of Northeast 13th Avenue.

Investigators said Sunday they believe the 13-year-old Thomas Jefferson Middle School student was attacked in a part of the lot some distance from where her body was discovered.

An autopsy was performed Sunday but the results were not immediately available. Investigators did not describe her wounds other than to say she died of "homicidal violence."

Investigators said this appeared to be a random attack, a crime of opportunity.

Authorities said they were searching for a person of interest seen in the area around the time the girl disappeared.

The sheriff's office described the person as in his 20s or 30s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing roughly 180 pounds with short hair. He was wearing a brown baseball cap, a green fleece long-sleeved shirt, jeans, gray sneakers and a brown backpack and had a silver mountain bike.

The sheriff's office said he did not appear to be a transient.

Anyone with information was asked to call a tipline at 1-877-274-6311.