Police release update on car theft of popular 80-year-old dog owner in Seattle

LOS ANGELES — The Seattle Police Department will provide an update Wednesday afternoon after an 80-year-old woman was killed in a carjacking in the city's Madison Valley neighborhood Tuesday morning.

The department announced it will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 4 p.m. KOMO News will livestream the press conference in this article, on YouTube and on the KOMO News Watch page.

The carjacking occurred on the street near Martin Luther King Jr. Way East and East Harrison Street just before 10 a.m. Tuesday. Police, paramedics and neighbors – including a man with a baseball bat – rushed to the scene and tried to save the woman's life, but the woman died in the street.

The victim, Ruth Dalton, was a popular neighborhood dog owner who had several dogs in her car and was on her way to a park when she was struck and killed by a carjacking. Investigators said she was dragged by the car as the suspect fled.

“To see an old lady lying on the ground being run over is horrifying,” witness Ian Delile told KOMO News on Tuesday. “I'm upset and angry. This is not OK.”

As of Wednesday morning, the SPD had not released a description of the suspect, other than that he was an adult male.

“She's someone that people really loved, and she was a fixture in the Madison Park neighborhood for a long time,” added Susan Lindsay, a friend of the victim. “She will be greatly missed, and people really loved her.”

Just after 3 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a report from Seattle Animal Control that a dead dog had been found in a trash can at Brighton Playfield near the 3900 block of South Juneau Street. Police said officers also found the 80-year-old woman's unoccupied vehicle at the park.

A neighbor said his dog, which was in the stolen car, was found about a mile from the scene of the carjacking.

Photos and videos from the scene of the crash at Brighton Playfield show damage to the side of the vehicle. The windshield on the driver's side of the vehicle was also damaged and the rear window appeared to be smashed. Investigators were working to tow the victim's vehicle from the scene at approximately 5:35 p.m.

Anyone with information is asked to call SPD's Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

This story will continue to develop and will be updated during the press conference at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Check back later for updates.