Police in Anchorage have hit a wall in an active homicide investigation. But with help from the FBI, they’re hoping to find a person who may have been involved.
Sunday evening, the Anchorage Police Department took the rare step of holding a press briefing to share details about the death of 18-year-old Treyveonkindell Thompson. The young man’s body was found early on the morning of July 29th in East Anchorage. Police say Thompson was biking home, but his yellow Motiv brand mountain-bike wasn’t at the scene when they arrived.
The head of the city’s homicide unit, Sergeant Slawomir Markiewicz said police were able to collect enough information from witnesses to put together a sketch showing a man they believe was involved. But after circulating the image internally among officers and staff, as well as routinely during patrols, nobody can figure out who the person is.
“There’s a number of people that we looked at,” Markiewicz told reporters. “Now I think we have to expand it, because we haven’t been successful, obviously. We haven’t solved this case.”
Though APD is leading the investigation, they routinely partner with state and federal partners when they can provide help. In this case, the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information from the public that might help officials identify the person of interest depicted in the sketch. The hope is that even though investigators can’t identify the man, perhaps there are citizens who can.
The case is similar to several other lethal incidents in Anchorage this year, in which residents have been killed while biking or walking along popular trails. But police refuse to speculate about unproven details or specify whether cases are related.
Those with information can call the FBI’s tip hotline, 907-276-4441. Those wishing to remain anonymous can either call Anchorage Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP, submit information to www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
@ZachHughesAK About Zachariah