Vancouver Police Department says the bodies of a missing mom and daughter have been found in a rural area near Washougal on Wednesday.
The mother, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, were last seen on the morning of March 12. A car that police believe belonged to Melendez was found a short distance from the 7700 block of Vancouver Mall Drive on March 19.
On March 19, police arrested Kirkland Warren, a person of interest in their disappearance, on charges of tampering with a witness, violation of domestic violence orders and possession of a firearm. Police believe Warren was the last person Melendez and Stewart were with before they disappeared. On Wednesday a person reported that there appeared to be two “life-sized mannequins” just off the road. Deputies then responded to the scene.
Their family members have been notified and the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death, police said.
The discovery of their bodies in thick brush down a road embankment on Wednesday has raised questions about why someone facing a murder charge in another state would be released from custody after being arrested for a serious domestic violence offense.
Warren was the last person seen with the mother and daughter before they disappeared, according to charging documents. On the night of March 11, a friend told police, she had been babysitting Stewart when Warren arrived to pick her up. Melendez was unresponsive in the car, naked from the waist down.
The friend reported Melendez missing on March 18. Melendez’s mother also reported her missing, saying the family had not heard from her for a week. The next day, police arrested Warren again. With his bail in Arkansas revoked, and his bail in Washington increased to $1 million, he has been in custody since.
RELATED:Florida Dad Shoots At Roommate Who Was Found Naked In Teen Daughter’s Bedroom
Cymber Tadlock, the deputy prosecutor who has handled Warren’s case in a 2017 killing in Jefferson County, Arkansas, said the Vancouver Police Department in Washington notified her on March 2 that they had arrested Warren for drive-by shooting and other charges, stemming from an incident in December. They also told her the next day that Warren had a court appearance and his bail was set at $100,000.
It wasn’t until March 14, after she had received official paperwork from Clark County, Washington, that she filed a motion to revoke Warren’s bail in the 2017 murder case. In the meantime, he posted bail and was released from custody March 8 — four days before Melendez and her daughter vanished.
Had his Arkansas bail been revoked sooner, it’s possible Warren would have remained in custody as a fugitive pending his extradition to face trial in Arkansas. But Tadlock said the time it took to obtain an order revoking his bail was typical.
“I wish everything could happen more quickly,” Tadlock told The Associated Press. “I wish his murder case could have been resolved by now. It’s had delay after delay, and now it’s had a tragedy.”