Grief, closure for friends, family of Nicole White: 'I got a gift, they found my daughter'
GRAHAM, Wash. -- News that the body of missing 28-year-old Nicole White was found wrapped in a tarp off a rural road has devastated Nicole's friends and family. But it also has brought some closure.
"It's not at all what any of us expected," said volunteer searcher Julz Kelley. "We had high hopes."
"I'm very lucky that, at least for Father's Day, I got a gift, they found my daughter Nicole," said Nicole's father, Eddie Nieto.
"Finding her brings closure to her family," said Pierce County sheriff's detective Ed Troyer. "We expect the prosecutor to look at the case sometime this week."
The discovery of Nicole's body sent waves of grief though the tight-knit community. For weeks Nicole's family, friends and strangers searched Pierce County looking for the mother of two, hoping to find her alive.
"She's not here with us but God has her in her arms," said Nieto.
Jonathan Harris, 29, of Graham, was seen with Nicole at Jeepers bar in Spanaway the night of June 6, and the owner of the bar said the two of them left together, the last time Nicole was seen alive, the sheriff's department said.
The bar owner said both Harris and Nicole had been in the bar before.
Nicole was reported missing by her family the next morning, and her car was found abandoned and partially hidden near Graham. The keys were still in the ignition.
The sheriff's department is not calling Harris a suspect, but rather a person of interest in the case.
After searching his house and property, law enforcement arrested Harris for allegedly being in illegal possession of 80 rounds of ammunition found in his garage. He is a felon, convicted of assault, and it is illegal for a felon to possess guns or ammunition.
He’s being held in federal custody until his next court hearing on Thursday.
Pierce County investigators said charges could be filed this week against Harris for his alleged connection to Nicole's disappearance.
Nicole's family planned a candlelight memorial for Nicole at Rainier View Christian Church at 7 p.m. Monday.