North Sound News

Man accused of stabbing friend to death at Whatcom County campsite

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Whatcom County deputies found the body of a man at a Baker Lake campsite after a suspect called police to report he was in a fight, then later mentioned that he had killed his friend, according the sheriff’s office.

Police said that about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, a man called 911 from a gas station near Arlington and said he had been in a fight with another man while camping in a remote area near the north end of Baker Lake. The call was transferred to the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office where the incident took place.

While speaking with authorities, the caller mentioned that a knife had been involved, which he took away from the other man and then left the area, police said.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office asked authorities near the caller’s location to respond and interview the man.  A Stillaguamish Tribal Police officer, two Arlington police officers and a sergeant from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office went to the gas station and found 29-year-old Alexander Vanags.

Authorities say Vanags had cuts and scrapes on his hands and face and was taken to a hospital in Arlington.

According to deputies, while speaking with officers, Vanags mentioned that he had “killed his friend” at Baker Lake.

Court records obtained by the Bellingham Herald said Vanags told police the stabbing was in self-defense and that his friend attacked him.

Whatcom County deputies found the campsite at the north end of Baker Lake shortly after 3 a.m. There, they found the body of a man with multiple wounds from an edged weapon of some kind, Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo told the Herald.

Crime scene deputies processed the scene and Vanags’ vehicle was impounded from the gas station in Arlington to be placed into evidence once a search warrant was obtained.

According to the Herald:

When an officer looked through the window of Vanags' Toyota Tundra, which was parked at a gas station in Arlington, they saw a machete with a serrated, sawtooth edge on the passenger floorboard, and a handgun on the dash, court records state. The machete had blood on the blade, records show.

Vanags was booked into the Whatcom County Jail for investigation of second-degree murder.

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