A task force was formed in August to research why the kidnapping and murder of a 12 year old girl by a sex offender in Pierce County occurred.  The task force revealed a need for better tracking and monitoring of the offenders. Governor Gregoire is now asking sheriffs to actively check on all sex offenders who are considered most likely to re-offend. Most of the 19,798 registered sex offenders in Washington are classified as Level 1 – least likely to reoffend – and are not actively monitored.  The suspect in the Pierce County case (Adhahn) was a Level 1 offender.  Governor Gregoire will provide funding to the Sheriffs for this operation and intends to extend this funding for future staffing to track and monitor all sex offenders.

There will be four areas of the State, (Chelan/ Douglas/ Yakima, Spokane, and King Counties), that will form teams made up of local law enforcement, Department of Corrections, and the US Marshalls Office. These teams will seek out and arrest those violators.

Chelan County will be looking for 33 offenders that have either failed to register and or failed to respond after registering. Thirty one of the offenders are level 1.

In working with Governor Gregoire, her staff and the Executive Director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Don Pierce, it is our hope to continue funding to track and monitor sex offenders through out the State.  The county Sheriff’s have done their best to track these offenders but due to limited resources it has been difficult.