WA WA - Phylis Lewellen, 36, Kelso, 27 Dec 1996 (& her Rottweiler)

ihadcabinfever

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Case File 1538DFWA

Phylis Lewellen
Missing since December 27, 1996 from Kelso, Cowlitz County, Washington
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Age at Time of Disappearance: 36 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'6"; 120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Long strawberry blond hair; blue-green eyes. She has a distinct Southern accent.
Clothing: Jeans, a white sweatshirt, a western-style coat and rubber-soled slippers.



Circumstances of Disappearance
Lewellen was last seen at her home in Kelso, Washington on the evening of December 27, 1996.
She was possibly driving a 1981 Peugeot - Light blue four door sedan 538ERL - Washington license plate. Possibly traveling with a pet female Rottweiler.
According to a Daily News story published at the time of her disappearance, her husband said he fears foul play may be involved, and he noted she departed "under perfectly good circumstances. She was in a great frame of mind. She wanted to . . . go out and take a drive and just be by herself and think."
Shortly after the time of her disappearance he also told a Daily News reporter that Phylis has not used their credit card or withdrawn money from any of their bank accounts.
An extensive search, at the time of her disappearance, did not locate her, the car, or the Rottweiler.
Sixteen law enforcement agencies gathered in August 2001 in Lacey to exchange evidence in the case of "Cowboy" Mike Braae. Investigators eliminated Michael Braae as a suspect because he was in custody in that time frame in Thurston County.
The Kelso woman showed quarter horses and bred dogs. She stayed home to raise their two children. Lewellen's husband said it hurts to read news accounts of how his wife went to bars, saying it makes it sound as if she went to them all the time. "That's really not fair. It doesn't feel fair to me for Phylis to get slammed all the time," he said. "She's a real person, not perfect, but she was not somebody who was out every night."

This is very weird. No matter how calm that dog is ,it would have gone bezerk if someone tried to harm her . Even if the person is a friend of the family. These dogs hate rough housing. The dog would get crazy.

I have one. I also had one before , they are feircely loyal companions.
 
Whoa, this is a weird one.

Anyone know if the photograph was of Phyllis or not? It's hard to believe that she would just decide to disappear, given her husband's apparent concern.

Kelly
 
Has the husband been completely eliminated as a suspect? It seems to me the story about her leaving to ''think'' sounds suspiciously vague.
 
It is a weird story. I noticed he had to divorce her because all the assets were in her name. He needed to do that for financial reasons. ? I must be missing something here. How much money did she write a check for?
 
Dogbreath said:
the dog is the key. As the husband said, the dog would go nuts if anyone got near her but.........not if it was the husband.

I don't think so. The Rottweiler wouldn't allow wrestling or rough housing. They are working dogs by nature. Herding dogs like evrything orderly.Anyway the husband would probably have been bitten or scratched up if he was involved.
It's really weird.
 
ihadcabinfever said:
It is a weird story. I noticed he had to divorce her because all the assets were in her name. He needed to do that for financial reasons. ?
Possibly but he also needed to do that before he could remarry since his wife has not been declared legally dead. In itself I don't find this behavior incriminating, life goes on and remaining married to someone who in all likeliness will never show up again is pointless.

I find it a little odd that no one ever reported seeing her car after she vanished, a 1981 Peugeot is not a common sight in North America. It doesn't look weird like other French cars but its styling is distinctive enough to be noticed by gas stations staff and not that many mechanics are qualified to perform maintenance on it. Complete absence of sightings (as far as we know) means the car is well hidden, like it would be at the bottom of a river or lake. It couldn't have gone that far. Foul play, accident or suicide are all possibilities, finding the car would greatly help this case.
 
Well you said it. The car isnt very common . I know the parts are expensive too.
My guess would be if she had a secret bank account ,she could have taken off. She would not do it without her kids. And take the dog? No. Something happened to the dog first.
What mother goes out the door the night after Christmas?
The same mother that christmas shopped ,Cooked , wrapped ,decorated ,2 kids to take of and care and on top of that the horses ? Yea right.
More like she was ready to fall into bed.
 
ihadcabinfever said:
What mother goes out the door the night after Christmas?
One who is depressed perhaps? Or seeking a little peace? If what the husband says is true, that she really just went driving around on her own "to think", that strikes me as somewhat "bluesy" behavior but on the other hand, some people see their car as the one space they can call their own, a psychological haven where they can take a break from other people such as potentially obnoxious in-laws invading one's home at Christmas.

I imagine it's possible a woman who chose such a distinctive vehicle saw more in it than just a means of transportation and did indeed enjoy driving it for therapeutic reasons. Companionship provided by the dog fits right in there as well which makes suicide less plausible and yet the woman, her dog and their exotic car were never seen again. Dang, trying to make sense of this event only makes it more confusing. :(
 
Well one thing is for sure ,if she left the house with the intention of suicide she would never bring her dog with her to leave it stranded somewhere.
If you look at the picture of her dog you can tell that dog has a very loving face.
 
Did this woman have siblings or parents or perhaps a best friend in whom she would confide...do we have only the husband's contention that ''everything was fine''? In other cases, the outside picture of domestic bliss is just a fascade, and the true relationship is an unhappy one. This story of her wanting to go for a drive'' to think'' reminds me of the recent trial of Perry March. He claimed one evening his wife left for a couple of days ''on vacation'', but never returned ... he is serving time for her murder although her body has never been found. It could all be as the husband has stated but I would like more information regarding their relationship, her state of mind, financial situation etc.
 
ihadcabinfever said:
Well one thing is for sure ,if she left the house with the intention of suicide she would never bring her dog with her to leave it stranded somewhere.
Yeah I was thinking along those lines as well. While this doesn't rule out suicide outright it makes it less likely.
 
Phylis' car never showed up anywhere.

http://jazzyrose.yuku.com/topic/999/t/Missing-Woman-Mis-ID-d.html

I can't find a link to the actual article copy and pasted into this forum but it looks to be the entire article copy and pasted.

With Phylis' car never having shown up (up to five years ago when the LE was interviewed for that article), that leads me to believe it's possible she, the dog and the car are in the same place still.

I wonder if there are any bodies of water where she disappeared?
 
I came across this case and google mapped Kelso, where she lived. There appears to be a major river running along Kelso. Why has no mention of a search of that body of water ever been mentioned? I find that odd as its very possible she accidentally ended up there.
 
Hi Glitter, I am "in the area" and there are several rivers/lakes. The Columbia River is large. I personally don't believe she ended up in the water but it's certainly possible. I'd like to know more about this case. I can't seem to find anything more than we already know.
Can anyone tell me when the divorce action started? I tried to find it but only came up with one that was started less than 2 months after she disappeared. Thank you!
 
okay, I did a search at http://dw.courts.wa.gov/?fa=home.namesearchterms

Phyllis Lewellen is the respondent

I found the filing for a legal separation - copy/pasted the first few lines below and the rest is searchable by name at the link (I noticed "Phyllis" is spelled with 2 "L"s in the record). I hope I am making sense here.


Court: Cowlitz Superior Ct
Case Number: 97-3-00109-3

Sub Docket Date Docket Code Docket Description Misc Info
- 02-21-1997 FILING FEE RECEIVED Filing Fee Received 110.00
1 02-21-1997 PETITION FOR LEGAL SEPARATION Petition For Legal Separation
2 02-21-1997 DECLARATION Declaration For Service By Pub
3 02-21-1997 ORDER FOR PUBLICATION Order For Publication
4 02-21-1997 SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION Summons By Publication
5 02-21-1997 MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE Motion For Order To Show Cause
6 02-21-1997 TEMP REST ORD & ORD TO SHO CAUS Temp Rest Ord & Ord To Sho Caus 03-07-1997DM
- 02-21-1997 TEMP REST ORD & ORD TO SHO CAUS Temp Rest Ord & Ord To Sho Caus 03-14-1997DM
- 02-21-1997 TEMP REST ORD & ORD TO SHO CAUS Temp Rest Ord & Ord To Sho Caus 03-21-1997DM

My personal note - Washington is a community property state so if my spouse left and I had reason to believe that my spouse had no intention of returning, I'd file legal action as well. That would be to protect myself from any financial responsibility for anything my spouse did after leaving. I have no idea why there is a temp. restraining order included in this action. I did that in Washington State because I was afraid for my life as my ex was very angry and I was scared to death.
 
I found an interesting document while searching this case. This cadaver dog handler helped search for Phylis, and claims his dogs located her, but Cowlitz County wouldn't dig. This guy looks like he has conducted a lot of successful searches, and people know their dogs, so I take this seriously. I think its on Pg. 22, but search for "Lewellen", and decide for yourself.....

http://www.k9sardog.com/FINDS People.pdf

I wonder if the dirt mentioned is at her(husbands) residence?

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