Merced County woman's family asks for help to find her killer

The family of a slain Atwater woman pleaded Wednesday with Valley residents to keep an eye out for the man wanted as a "person of interest" related to her death last month.

The relatives are still in "disbelief" that the body of 26-year-old Katherine Cunningham was found March 3 on Camano Island, a remote area of northwest Washington, according to Jenna Slate, Cunningham's cousin. Cunningham was "out-going, bubbly" and "loving," she said.

"It just doesn't feel real," she said while holding back tears.

Authorities are still looking for Los Banos resident Jacob Gonzales, 34, who was described as a person of interest in Cunningham's death after her decapitated body was found near a bunker dug into the hillside that contained a cache of supplies, ammunition and firearms, investigators have said.

Gonzales may have returned to the Los Banos area, Cunningham's relatives believe.

Cunningham was a nursing assistant who attended Merced College and was planning to go back to school to be a registered nurse, according to her mother, Jenifer.

"We just want to get the story out again because nothing's happening out here," her mother said. "If he is around here, we want people to report him to their local authority."

The family cremated Cunningham and had a funeral on March 30, her mother said. The 2009 Buhach Colony graduate joined the Air Force reserves in 2012, according to the family.

Relatives spoke highly of Cunningham, laughing as they remembered the time she baked a shoe-themed cake for her little sister and was all too willing to rescue animals, according to Patricia Barrass, her grandmother.

"She'd take in every stray if she could," she said.

Authorities with the Island County Sheriff's Office in Washington, citing a need to protect the investigation, have declined to comment on a motive for the slaying and also have not described the relationship between Gonzales and Cunningham. Her family said Wednesday they've been told by authorities not to discuss specific details of their relationship either.

Cunningham’s sister, Emma, said the two had dated "on and off" for at least five years, but she didn't know their relationship status in Washington.

"I was shocked and stunned at what happened to my sister," she said in a phone interview. "But, I was not surprised he was the person of interest."

A $1 million warrant has been issued for Gonzales on five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and a count of motor vehicle theft, according to authorities. He has not been charged in the homicide, but remains a "person of interest." investigators said.

Cunningham’s sister said people in Merced County and particularly Los Banos could help authorities find Gonzales. She also asked Gonzales to come forward and tell authorities what he knows.

"Our family's never going to have justice until they find him or whoever did this," she said.

The family said Gonzales served in the Air Force, stationed in Fairfield. Gonzales and Cunningham met several years ago while they still lived in Merced County, according to her sister.

Island County Sheriff Mark Brown told the Stanwood Camano News on Monday that his department is working with federal authorities in the search for Gonzales.

Stanwood Camano News also reported authorities found a handgun in a trailer on the property where Cunningham was found, and they learned from a friend of Gonzales that he was trying to live "off the grid" as a "bunker nut" who thought the government might try to take his guns, according to a number of search warrants and affidavits.

Authorities said Cunningham's head appeared to have been removed with a saw or sharp blade such as a machete, according to the documents. They also reported it appeared she was killed somewhere else and brought to the hillside.

“(The case) may be cold in the social media world, but it’s not cold in the police world,” Brown said. “We’re looking for Mr. Gonzales, working with federal authorities. There’s a warrant out for his arrest, sometimes it takes a lot of time. We’ve had cases in the past that have taken several months.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Merced County woman's family asks for help to find her killer."