Family urges Everett council to review police response after delayed welfare checks in missing-person mental-health case

Julie Smith, a longtime Everett resident and former chair of the Everett Salary Commission, told the City Council on March 12 that failures by multiple law-enforcement agencies and gaps in procedure contributed to a delayed response in a missing-person and active mental-health crisis that ended in her fiance’s death.

Smith said her fiance, named in her remarks as Angela ("Ange") Kaylee Lonnie Silva, left their home March 2 at 4:22 p.m. during an acute mental-health crisis. Smith told the council she called the Everett Police Department and told dispatchers her fiance had expressed intent to kill herself and had access to a firearm. Smith said a rookie officer, Tyson Johnson, called her back but declined to initiate an immediate search and told her searching would not begin for a minimum of 30 days, that adults have the right to leave, and that she should call back later if dissatisfied. Smith said later contact with an officer identified as Chan (also transcribed as Chen) produced no progress; she said she later learned the firearm at her fiance’s mother’s home was missing and that her fiance was found deceased less than 12 hours after a detective arrived at the family home.

"A timely search could have saved her," Smith said, attributing the outcome to what she described as systemic failures in responding to mental-health crises and insufficient interagency coordination. She urged the city and partner law-enforcement agencies to address policy, practice and resource gaps, including the potential use of real-time license-plate tracking.

Council members expressed condolences and said they would follow up. Council Member Metrui asked that the Health and Safety Committee review the city’s processes and procedures for responding to mental-health crises at its next meeting; the request was framed as a councilmember request rather than a formal vote. Council Member Voguely said she hoped Mayor Cassie Franklin would respond about Everett Police Department policy decisions. Council members also referred to community resources for suicide prevention and noted the need to examine procedures and available tools.

What was said and what the council will do: Smith provided a detailed timeline in public comment and specifically named officers and departments involved in attempts to locate her fiance. Members of the council requested a staff review at the Health and Safety Committee; no formal ordinance or budget action was taken at the March 12 meeting. Smith named concrete changes she sought, including more compassionate and proactive welfare checks, better phone-tracking practices and consideration of technology such as license-plate readers to speed searches. The council did not commit to a particular policy or procurement action during the meeting.

Why it matters: Smith’s testimony raised concerns about how Everett and its partner agencies respond to people in active mental-health crises and the intersection of welfare checks, interagency transfers (for example, Bothell and Kirkland police involvement), and available investigative tools. The council’s next steps will determine whether formal policy reviews, training, or resource requests follow.

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