It’s wrenching for Carly Schaap, mother of Hunter Schaap, 16, to see her son’s grinning face on a new billboard in Bremerton asking for the public’s help in solving the murder of a Kitsap family of four.
But Schaap is hoping that others traveling on Sixth Street west of Naval Avenue who see it will feel moved to report information they have on the case.
“It’s hard to look at,” said Schaap, who supported posting the sign asking for help in the 2017 quadruple murder. “Anything that is going to help the case, I am so for it. Whether it’s gouging to me, in the process, I have an end goal here. I want justice.”
It’s not just a photo of Hunter, wearing his North Kitsap High School football uniform. The sign features Hunter’s words, as recorded in his 911 call that first alerted authorities that something terrible had happened.
“Help! I’m dying … My family is dead! Come Now!”
When authorities arrived on Jan. 27, 2017, at the Careaga house near Tahuya Lake it was on fire. Inside were the bodies of Hunter, Christale Lynn Careaga, 37, and Johnathon F. Higgins, 16.
The body of Johnny Careaga, 43, was found the next day in a burned-out truck off a remote Mason County road. Authorities say they believe the killer or killers had targeted Johnny Careaga.
The four had been shot, authorities disclosed earlier this year.
They also released the name of a “person of interest” in the case, Danie Jay Kelly Jr., who was seen in previously released video wearing clothing associated with the Bandidos motorcycle club. After naming Kelly, authorities said the investigation has other persons of interest.
It’s the second sign posted in Bremerton seeking information from passersby. The first shows the four members of the blended family and ways to relay tips. Hunter’s sign is just his photo and his words.
Schaap said Hunter enjoyed camaraderie and was more about group photos than selfies, but given the circumstances she thinks he would be OK with his photo on a billboard.
“He obviously wanted help,” Schaap said. “He pleaded for help. And I think that’s what is important here, we have a kid who is really pleading for his life.”
Kitsap Coutny Sheriff's Detective Lissa Gundrum, the investigator assigned the case, said she was limited in what she could disclose, but said the investigation is progressing.
“We are definitely moving forward,” Gundrum said. She said she understands concerns about the time it is taking, but said it is a reflection of the care investigators are putting into the case.
“We turn over every rock and we look at every possible angle to this, so that we do it right the first time,” she said.
Authorities have compared the investigation to a puzzle: Each piece on its own doesn’t amount to much but collected together the pieces present a clear picture.
Gundrum said investigators have received tips that may not have reflected the whole picture, and those providing the tips may not have recognized their contribution as important to the sum, but to investigators the tips added up.
“And actually it turns out to be something we needed,” Gundrum said.
If given the opportunity to speak directly to a person who has one or some of those pieces, Schaap said she would want them to think about the right of a mother to know what happened to her son and know they could bring peace to loved ones.
“This is not going to bring Hunter back, but the questions torment me every day,” she said. “The hows and whys are debilitating.”
Those with information on the case can give them to Crimestoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS or relay them online by going to www.p3tips.com.
