OMAK – Ever since the arrest of Kelly Small in January 2010 for two previously unsolved rapes in which the women were strangled – and one of them killed – police have believed these were not the only times the Omak man assaulted women.
Small, 50, was convicted Wednesday of killing Sandy Bauer in 1998.
Last month, he was convicted of raping another Omak woman in 2006.
Omak Police Chief Larry Schreckengast, his detective Jeff Koplin and Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers all say they believe Small has other victims out there, perhaps in Tacoma.
“Your gut tells you, he didn’t just do this,” Rogers said.
“One occurred in 1998 and the other in 2006. That’s eight years apart,” said Schreckengast. “It’s hard for me to believe there’s not something else out there. But so far, no other cases have popped up,” he said.
Schreckengast said Koplin put Small’s information into a national database, and a few cases turned up that were similar in nature, but there’s no evidence tying them to Small.
Koplin said he also tried to find out where Small was living when those crimes were committed, but Small and his wife have told him different stories about where they lived. He mentioned living or working in Issaquah, Omak, Brewster, Wenatchee, Spokane, North Bend, Chelan, Winthrop, Tacoma, Everett and Seattle.
The detective said it’s possible that these were the only two times that Small raped and strangled women. But that would be unusual.
“Am I going to quit looking? No, I am not,” he said.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.