Who killed two hikers near Mt. Pilchuck?

Two women who were found dead near a trail in the Mount Pilchuck area had been shot, a source close to the investigation said Wednesday.

The pair, a mother and daughter from Seattle, were last seen alive at about 10 a.m. on a day hike to Pinnacle Lake, about 20 miles east of Granite Falls.

At about 2:30 p.m., another hiker called 911 after he discovered the bodies a couple of miles up the popular trail near the lake.

There seemed to be more questions Wednesday than answers about the slayings.

The Sheriff's Office declined to talk about their cause of death, other than to say the pair died by "homicidal violence."

Sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch also didn't say whether detectives had identified a suspect, but he warned people planning to hike in the Pinnacle Lake area to be cautious.

Niebusch called for the public's help in the case, asking people who were hiking in the area Tuesday and might have seen something to call the sheriff's tip line at 425-388-3845.

Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office finished its investigation at the scene and the bodies were removed by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's office, the Sheriff's Office and search-and-rescue crews.

The medical examiner is expected to release the identities of the women and their cause of death after next-of-kin is notified and scientific identification of the women via fingerprints, X-rays or dental records is made.

One of the women was in her 40s, Niebusch said, and the other woman was in her 20s. A Seattle man was notified Tuesday night about the deaths of his wife and daughter, according to sources.

Niebusch declined to say whether the attack was random, but he did say the women were hiking alone.

The Sheriff's Office is stepping up patrols in the area.

Niebusch said detectives likely recovered some evidence from the scene, and today they'll be processing a late-90s purple Dodge Caravan, which was towed from the trailhead Tuesday and is believed to belong to the women.

Neil Bresheare, a member of the Mountaineers hiking group in Everett who uses the trails in that area, said the news is "disconcerting, because it is a family place, it's a place where you will take the kids."

Though part of the trail is heavily wooded, "You would feel pretty comfortable," he said. "Everybody's pretty polite. I've never had any problems whatsoever."

Acting Ranger Phyllis Reed of the Darrington Ranger District said the area near Pinnacle Lake is popular with hikers coming out of Everett and Seattle.

Bresheare said the two-mile trek is one of the closest to an urban center of its kind.

"It's a pretty lake, you know; it's one of the nicest ones this close," he said.

Brian Alexander: 425-745-7845 or balexander@seattletimes.com. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464- 8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com