Police Worry Washington Fugitive May Be Targeting Family, Law Enforcement

Michael Boysen is suspected of murdering his granparents after prison release.

ByABC News
March 12, 2013, 9:56 AM

March 12, 2013 — -- Police today stepped up their search for a Washington man suspected of murdering his grandparents the day they threw him a party to welcome him home from prison. Authorities fear the man may be trying to obtain weapons and targeting family members and law enforcement officials.

A manhunt is on for Michael Boysen, 26, who authorities call "an extreme danger to the public and police."

"I can't stress how dangerous this guy is," King County Sheriff John Urquhart said at a news conference on Monday.

Boysen was released from prison on Friday where he had been serving time since 2006 for three robbery convictions, according to ABC News' Seattle affiliate KOMO.

Family members have identified the slain couple, Boysen's grandparents, as Robert and Norma Taylor, according to KOMO. They were 82 and 80 years old, respectively.

"At the grandparents' house on Friday night, there was kind of a welcome home party with other family members," Urquhart said. "Everybody left the party at about 9 o'clock at night."

Authorities believe that Boysen killed his grandparents shortly after that and then took off in their car, a red 2001 Chrysler 300 with a Washington license plate 046-XXU.

"We are at a loss as to why he killed them," the sheriff said. "We don't know what the motive is."

Urquhart said the grandparents were not shot, but did not elaborate on how they were killed. Police do not think that Boysen had a gun when he left the house, but may have tried to obtain one since then.

On Saturday, the victims' daughter, Boysen's mother, discovered her parents' bodies after going to their house when she was unable to reach them, KOMO reported.

Detectives have been told that Boysen searched the Internet for information on gun shows across the Pacific Northwest and Nevada, Sgt. Cindi West told KOMO.

The sheriff said that Boysen has made threats against family members and law enforcement.

"He intended to get a gun and kill citizens, kill people in positions of authority, which we take to mean police officers," Urquhart said. "We need to catch this guy and at this point we need the help of the public because we have no idea where he is."

"We don't want another Maurice Clemmons situation in Western Washington," Urquhart said. Clemmons was a felon who murdered four police officers in 2009 in Parkland, Wash., and then evaded capture for two days before being shot and killed by a police officer.

Boysen's other family members have been put in protective custody, according to KOMO.

Boysen is 5-foot-10-inches tall and weighs around 170 pounds. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911 immediately.