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Suspect in fatal Skagit County crash arrested 14 years later

Suspect in fatal Skagit County crash arrested 14 years later

Photo: Saga Communications/Dave Walker


SKAGIT COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A suspect wanted in connection to a fatal Skagit County crash has been arrested after over a decade on the run.

Washington State Patrol says that 33-year-old Manuel Cortez-Vargas was taken into custody in central California on Thursday, April 30.

In 2012, Cortez-Vargas was involved in a rollover crash near Sedro-Woolley that killed his passenger, 19-year-old Cameron Sheridan.

Cortez-Vargas was placed on WSP’s Most Wanted List later that year for failing to appear in court after the accident.

WSP detectives followed new information over the past few weeks that led to the suspect’s location in Madera County, California.

Cortez-Vargas will be extradited to Skagit County to face a hit-and-run fatality charge.

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