Vancouver, Wash. – On June 10, 2019, the Vancouver Police Department was contacted for report of a missing teen, Nikolas (Nikki) Kuhnhausen, 17, a transgender female, who had not been in contact with family since June 5, 2019. Detectives assigned to this case contacted friends and associates of Nikki who stated that she had left the residence of a friend she was staying with the night of June 5, 2019 and met up with an unknown male.  

Detectives from the Digital Evidence Cybercrime Unit were able to access information from Nikki’s Snapchat account which led them to a person of interest who Nikki had been communicating with in the early morning hours of June 6. A search warrant for the Snapchat account of the male she had been communicating with, David Bogdanov, corroborated that the two had met and that he had transported her in his vehicle.

On July 31, 2019, detectives obtained a search warrant for Bogdanov’s cell phone call and location and data.

On October 2, 2019, detectives interviewed Bogdonov and he indicated that he and Nikki had been together on June 5 and they had a conflict and he asked Nikki to get out of his vehicle. Bogdonov stated Nikki walked away and he never saw her after that.

Shortly thereafter, the full analysis of Bogdonov’s cell phone was completed which showed the phone at a variety of locations, to include an area in east Clark County near Larch Mountain in the early morning hours of June 6.

On December 7, 2019, a citizen located a human skull in the woods in the Larch Mountain area. Additional human remains and other evidence were collected by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Clark County Search and Rescue and forensic analysis confirmed the remains were those of Nikki Kuhnhausen.

On December 17, 2019, Vancouver Police arrested David Y. Bogdanov, DOB 3/19/94, for Murder II.  He is currently lodged at the Clark County Jail and is expected to make his first court appearance on December 18, 2019.

The Vancouver Police Department will hold a news conference to discuss details of this case:

Date:               December 18, 2019

Time:                10:30 a.m.

Location:          Vancouver Police Department West Precinct (2800 NE Stapleton Rd.)

No additional information related to this case will be released until the news conference.

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The Vancouver Police Department is seeking applicants for Entry and Lateral Police Officers. If you are interested in a career with us, visit https://www.cityofvancouver.us/police/page/how-do-i-become-vancouver-police-officer.