Police interviewing co-workers of Capitol Hill stabbing victim

Seattle police are interviewing co-workers of a Seattle woman found stabbed to death outside her Capitol Hill condominium building Monday night to determine whether her attacker may be associated with the Sierra Club, where she worked.

The victim was identified by co-workers as Shannon Harps, 31, who worked as an organizer for the Northwest region of the Sierra Club.

Seattle police Sgt. Deanna Nollette said detectives are talking with Harps' friends, family and co-workers in an effort to find out whether they might know who killed her. Police have a description of a person of interest and this afternoon released a sketch.

Dan Ritzman, the Sierra Club's Northwest director, said he and other club employees don't know anything about a possible suspect.

"We're just counting on the police to conduct their investigation and hopefully there will be some sort of closure," Ritzman said.

Ronald Harps, the slain woman's father, said that his youngest daughter never talked about feeling threatened by someone. He said that Shannon last e-mailed him about two hours before she was killed. He said she wrote that she was on her way to pick up groceries to bring to a New Year's Eve party.

"The thing that most of her friends recognize about Shannon is that she had a severe case of independence," said Ronald Harps, from his home in Fort Meyers, Fla. "She was very confident in her ability to do many things. Most of all she loved being on her own."

Harps moved to Seattle about four years ago after transferring from a position with the Sierra Club in Ohio. Her job involved long hours trying to bring together activists and volunteers from across the state in a campaign to reduce greenhouse gases. She also found time for biking, running and hiking, Ritzman said."She was a really rare person who cared both about the environment and engaging with people. She was excited and energized about working together to make the world a better place," Ritzman said. "She liked to see some of the wild places she was working hard to protect."

Last month, during the Sierra Club's annual Northwest retreat in Leavenworth, Harps organized a holiday gift exchange. Her ability to be the conduit between different types of people shone through, Ritzman said.

Ever since college, after spending a summer working near Crater Lake National Park, Harps had wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest, her father said. She grew up in Mentor, Ohio, the daughter of two high-school teachers. She graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and obtained a graduate degree in environmental education from Wellesley College, in Massachusetts, in 2003.

"She really truly loved and was so passionate about wildlife preservation and conservation of all types," Ronald Harps said. "We always called her our conscience of the family."

Staff members at the Sierra Club are shocked about Harps' death, Ritzman added.

"It feels like a completely random act, but I don't know all the details," he said. "Being the person she is, and the spirit she had, I can't imagine any person out there would hold any ill will toward her."

Ritzman and another co-worker said Harps had been planning and looking forward to an upcoming trip to South America.

Harps died after being stabbed several times. She was walking home, after stopping at a grocery store, when the man attacked, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

"Witnesses heard her scream. There were more screams, and that's what prompted the 911 calls," Jamieson said. "Our officer arrived within a minute of being dispatched."

Police have increased patrols in the neighborhood because they haven't yet determined whether the attack was random.

Harps was entering her building when the man, whom witnesses describe as white and in his 40s, stabbed her. He is described as about 6 feet tall with a 3- or 4-inch beard. He was wearing baggy pants, a blue parka and a dark-colored ski hat.

Jamieson said witnesses described the attacker as "scruffy" but "not too dirty."

Residents in the building at 15th Avenue East and East Howell Street heard screaming shortly after 7 p.m. and called police, Jamieson said. Officers found Harps collapsed on the Howell Street sidewalk.

She was stabbed several times in the upper chest and stomach, according to police. She was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center.

Tuesday afternoon, a memorial was set up outside the condominium building.

One woman who visited the memorial said Harps was a close friend as well as a co-worker.

Lori Stutz said Harps had lived in the building for about two years.

Stutz said she and Harps were supposed to get together Monday night to ring in the new year but said she couldn't get hold of Harps. Stutz said no one was home at Harps' condo, her car was parked at the building and neighbors told Stutz they saw authorities trying to resuscitate Harps on Monday night.

"We're real good friends; we just bought tickets to go to Chile," Stutz said. "We had plans last night, and I couldn't get ahold of her."

Police will continue searching for additional witnesses, Jamieson said. Detectives expect to release a sketch of the attacker within the next two days.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporter Nick Perry contributed to this report.