She Vanished and Was Later Found Slain in the Woods — Months Later, Police Believe They Have Her Killer By Sean Neumann

More than half a year after Mallory Barbour first went missing from her home in northwest Washington state, police say they believe they caught the man responsible.

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media statement on Jan. 7 that “detectives arrested a 45-year-old Bremerton man in connection with the death of Mallory Barbour and booked him into the Mason County Jail.” 

“Our thoughts remain with Mallory’s family and friends affected by this tragedy,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

Police have not identified the man arrested in connection with Barbour’s death, though Mason County Jail records reviewed by PEOPLE show only one man arrested and charged with homicide on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Fox 13 reported the man is expected to be arraigned in court on the homicide charge on Thursday afternoon.

It’s not clear is police believe the suspect has any prior connection to Barbour. PEOPLE has reached out to Mason County Sheriff’s Office for more information but did not immediately receive a response Thursday morning.

Barbour was first reported missing last summer after she was last seen leaving her home in Bothell, Wash., on June 24, 2025.

The 27-year-old’s body was later discovered on Sept. 15, 2025, in a remote wooded area off State Route 3 and Pickering Road, 90 miles by car from her home, according to KOMO News.

Officials with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said Barbour’s body had been found with multiple gunshot wounds and was left in the wooded area off the Washington state highway for months, according to KOMO.

Family members and friends have since expressed shock at Barbour’s killing, with one friend, Ashley Ainge, telling KOMO recently that Barbour was “just the last person that deserved to have this happen to her.”

“Mallory was amazing, Mallory was so full of love and life,” Ainge told the outlet.

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Barbour’s mother spoke with Fox 13 in November and told the outlet her daughter was a kind and upbeat person.

“She was a great person, she doesn’t deserve this, she did nothing wrong and she was just in a bad place at a bad time,” Barbour’s mother, Denise Barbour, told the outlet. “Just knowing that she would have a life that would be enriched, that she would be happy and be able to work in our community. Have a partner, maybe even grandkids, maybe.”