Heichel kissed her husband goodbye before heading out into the chilly, damp air.
It was dark -- sunrise was still 45 minutes away last Tuesday morning -- and Heichel had a 7 a.m. shift at a Starbucks just a short drive away.
But she wasn't the only one outside the Heatherwood Apartments at that time, detectives would learn, as they investigated why the 21-year-old woman never made it to work.
Over the next four days of intense investigative
efforts, Jonathan D. Holt, another resident of the Gresham apartment complex, would go from potential witness to prime suspect in Heichel's disappearance.
Around the clock, police officers, church members, friends, family and other community members searched for clues, uncovered evidence and sent tips. Investigators interviewed Holt, noting inconsistencies in his answers. And results from forensic tests Friday, together with his statements and other evidence, culminated in Holt's Friday night arrest on accusations of aggravated murder.
"It was a totality of information that got us to the point we believed we had enough information that Holt was responsible for her disappearance," Gresham Police Chief Craig Junginger said in an email Saturday.
Around the same time that police arrested Holt, searchers on Larch Mountain in east Multnomah County found Heichel's body. The discovery crushed hopes that somehow the woman known for her compassion and friendliness and who dreamed about having children with her beloved husband would be found alive.
"Really, words can't begin to express the sadness that our families are experiencing tonight," Jim Vaughn, a spokesman for the family, said Friday night. "Whitney was a very loving person, one who was loved by everyone. She had no enemies, she had no people that didn't love her."
Holt is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Clackamas County Circuit Court. Heichel was killed in Clackamas County, not in Multnomah County where her body was found, according to Gresham police. A Multnomah County prosecutor will continue to work with Clackamas County on the case.
The medical examiner completed an autopsy on Heichel Saturday afternoon, but the results were not made public.
The investigation that would span two counties, pull personnel from eight different agencies and command the efforts of hundreds of church and community volunteers, started with a morning phone call.
Sometime after 8 a.m. Tuesday, Heichel's Starbucks manager called Clint Heichel to alert him that his wife had failed to show up at work.
Her husband tried several times to reach Whitney Heichel on her cellphone. Other friends and family also tried texting her. Unable to reach her, Clint Heichel called police just before 10 a.m.
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