Authorities have identified the woman who was found dead near Mabton in late April.

Samantha Kalinchuk, 17, of Spokane was identified through dental records, Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice said Wednesday.

An autopsy determined that she died from a single gunshot to the head, and she had been dead for at least a day before her body was found, Chief Deputy Yakima County Coroner Marshall Slight said in an earlier interview.

Sheriff’s deputies were called around 3:30 p.m. April 30 to the 600 block of Farm Road, about 2 miles east of Mabton, where her body was found near a house, Chief Criminal Deputy Carl Hendrickson said in an earlier interview.

Her death is one of 15 homicides in the county this year, and the first in the Mabton area.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 509-574-2500. Tips may also be left with Yakima County Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or online at https://yhne.ws/crimestoppers.

Reach Donald W. Meyers at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.

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Crime and Courts Reporter

Donald W. Meyers is a multimedia journalist at the Yakima Herald-Republic covering crime and courts. He is also the writer behind “It Happened Here,” a weekly history column. Before coming to Yakima, Meyers covered a wide variety of beats at The Salt Lake Tribune, Daily Herald, and daily and weekly newspapers across New Jersey. He is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as a regional officer in the organization as well as on the national Freedom of Information Committee.

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