Shawn Roe owned the van that drew U.S. Forest Service Officer Kristine Fairbanks’ attention because it lacked license plates.
Why he removed them may never be known, said Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin on Monday.
“It appears he wanted to drop out of society and wanted to get away from everything and everyone,” Pergrin said.
Authorities believe Shawn Matthew Roe, 36, shot and killed Fairbanks, 51, on Sept. 20 at the Dungeness Forks Campground in Olympic National Forest about six miles south of Sequim.
Shortly before her death, Fairbanks had told a State Patrol dispatcher she was checking a Dodge van without license plates.
She had provided the dispatcher with Roe’s name, identifying him as a person in the van.
The van not only lacked plates, but also one of the vehicle identification numbers had been scratched off, Peregrin said.
Another vehicle identification number, which is hidden on every vehicle, was found on the van by a specialist from the State Patrol, he added.
