The Deschutes County district attorney and Redmond Police say the investigation continues into who left a dead raccoon with a racist sign at the law office of Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch on June 5. The police department intentionally obscured the words on the sign.

More than three months after a racist letter was found attached to a bloodied, dead raccoon at the mayor of Redmond’s law office, no suspect has been named in the case and charges have yet to be filed.

Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch said he found the raccoon and the sign attached to it when he showed up for work at his downtown Redmond law office on June 5. Fitch characterized the note’s language as “racially hateful” and added that its author “doesn’t write very well and didn’t have the courage to sign it.”

Law enforcement said that forensic evidence found at the crime scene is still being processed. In an interview Thursday with The Bulletin, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels insisted that police continue to investigate what he described as a potentially “serious crime.”

In addition to a potential bias crime, Gunnels said authorities are investigating possible charges of animal abuse and criminal mischief. Police are trying to locate potential suspects and are awaiting the results of forensic testing, he added.

“We take it very seriously,” said Gunnels. “It’s a case where a veiled threat is made against known individuals in the community, including a reference to a city councilor’s race along with a notorious symbol of racism, which is the dead raccoon.”

But Redmond City Councilor Clifford Evelyn, who is Black and was mentioned in the hateful note attached to the dead animal, said he felt the investigation had not progressed.

He said police have not located surveillance video of the act and he felt that limited the chances of prosecuting a suspect.

“To my knowledge, it’s done,” he said of the investigation. “(Police) didn’t have what they thought they had.”

But Redmond Police Lt. Eric Beckwith denied that the investigation has been closed. Beckwith said the department understands the severity of the crime and the public interest in the case and that police continue to follow leads and process evidence.

“This is an investigation that remains open and active,” said Beckwith.

Police initially announced they were investigating the incident as a potential second-degree bias crime, a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in jail with a possible fine of up to $6,250.

For authorities to convict someone, they would need to prove that a suspect intentionally threatened to physically harm a person, her or his family or property because of the person’s race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national origin, according to Oregon statute.