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Secrets of the River | Full Episode
The full 48 Hours episode, 42 min: the case told start to finish in one sitting.
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Mackenzie Nicole Cowell (April 1, 1992 – February 9, 2010) was a 17-year-old senior at Wenatchee High School in Washington state, where she was a member of the dance team, worked as a model, and studied cosmetology at the Wenatchee Academy of Hair Design. She lived in Orondo, Washington.
On February 9, 2010, Cowell went missing shortly after 3:00 p.m. She was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Academy of Hair Design and driving away, having told classmates she would return in less than 15 minutes. She sent a text message to her boyfriend around this time, which was the last known use of her phone. Her father's attempts to reach her that evening went to voicemail, and her family grew concerned when she missed her 8 p.m. curfew. That night, a homeowner in a remote area of Chelan County reported an abandoned car, which was traced to Cowell's father and found near Mission Ridge, roughly 40 miles from her home. Her purse and some clothing were found inside, but her debit card and phone were missing, and only one set of footprints was found at the scene. The Chelan County Sheriff's Office, later joined by the FBI, launched a search.
On February 13, 2010, Cowell's body was discovered by a passer-by on the banks of the Columbia River near Quincy, Washington, roughly 50 yards from a vacant house. An autopsy determined she had been strangled, stabbed, and suffered blunt-force trauma to the head. The autopsy also documented an apparent postmortem injury to one arm. No evidence of sexual assault was found. A memorial service drew approximately 1,800 attendees later that month.
A multi-agency task force, including Wenatchee and East Wenatchee police, Chelan and Douglas county authorities, the FBI, and ICE officials, investigated the case, interviewing over 800 people. Early suspects, including Cowell's boyfriend and her mother's boyfriend, were cleared. A police informant's claims implicating two other men were later undermined when she retracted parts of her account and the men produced alibis.
Investigators eventually focused on Christopher Scott Wilson, a 29-year-old classmate of Cowell's at the Academy of Hair Design, after tips described his fascination with death and serial killers. Wilson was arrested in October on suspicion of second-degree murder after DNA on duct tape near the body linked him to the scene; police also found Cowell's blood in his apartment. A friend, Tessa M. Schuyleman, was accused of helping conceal the crime but was never charged with that offense, instead facing an unrelated obstruction of justice charge.
Prosecutors upgraded the charge to first-degree murder in 2011. Wilson's defense, led by attorney John Henry Browne, sought to implicate other suspects and argue the blood evidence had been planted. After jury selection began, Wilson pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, first-degree robbery, and an unrelated second-degree assault, receiving a sentence of 14 years and 3 months. He later sought unsuccessfully to withdraw his plea, maintaining his innocence. Wilson was released from Monroe Correctional Center on December 11, 2023.
