Video: Skagit County murder mystery takes sordid turn

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BELLINGHAM, Wash. - A man found dead on Blanchard Mountain had been shot, and investigators were trying to determine whether he was a missing Ferndale High School track coach, Skagit County sheriff's deputies said.

In a related development, Deputy Will Reichardt said authorities were trying to determine whether Jeremy Scully's involvement in an adult networking Web site may have been involved in his disappearance.

The 38-year-old substitute teacher and coach was reported missing by school officials Friday, a day after he was last seen by a friend at his apartment. His car was found Saturday with the door ajar and keys in the ignition off Interstate 5 near Lake Samish.

On Sunday afternoon hikers found a dead man on Blanchard Mountain in the woods about 200 yards off a gravel road to Samish Overlook, a launching area for hang gliders on the 2,225-foot mountain near the northwest corner of Skagit County.

There was no identification on the body, Reichardt said Tuesday, adding that an autopsy showed the man died of a gunshot wound to the head.

As a medical examiner tries to confirm whether the body found on Blanchard Mountain is that of the missing teacher, there's a new sordid twist in the case.

KING 5 News has learned that teacher, Jeremy Scully, is a member of an adult swinger Web site. Deputies are investigating whether that has anything to do with his disappearance.

"I knew about the Web site, and I knew that Jeremy did get on the Web site," said Robbin Goldsby, Scully's girlfriend.

Jeremy had an active profile on adultfriendfinder.com. On his profile page, he says he's looking for women, couples or groups to be friends with or to have sex with. The high school coach and substitute teacher also said he was looking for discreet relationships.

Jeremy Scully

"It may turn out to be something that's huge and be the key that unlocks the mystery. And it may be something that doesn't matter at all," said Dep. Chief Will Reichardt, Skagit County Sheriff's Department.

Scully's profile shows he had nearly 30 friends on the site and that he may have been online in the days before he disappeared.

When detectives sealed of Scully's apartment over the weekend, they did take his computer into evidence and they confirm they are looking into the Web site as a potential clue to his disappearance, and perhaps, murder.

"It's certainly something that we're aware of and we're following up and we will follow those leads to wherever they may lead. And that is one of things we're doing right now is talking to the people that he may have been involved with with that Web site and trying to track down, you know, what our victim's last days were about and who he was talking to," said Reichardt.

KING 5 News has also learned detectives have searched several locations, including a house in Alger, where they served a search warrant.

His girlfriend describes Scully as a wonderful man and says his participation on the site didn't bother her.

"It was simply another small part of Jeremy's life," said Goldsby.

Detectives reiterate they have not confirmed the homicide victim on Blanchard Mountain is Scully. The victim died from a gunshot wound to the head. Detectives say the delay in getting a formal identification is because he cannot be identified by sight and they are waiting to get a match through fingerprints, dental records or DNA.

Besides his high school work, Scully helped coach pole vaulters at Western Washington University and in the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department's pole vaulting program.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.