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A cat was found dead in the Olympia area Wednesday. Officials say it was not at the hands of the infamous cat killer. But others argue that 1-year-old Mystic was intentionally killed.

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The cat’s body was discovered on Sept. 13 along Pacific Avenue, near Pacific Ridge Drive in Lacey. Investigators were working to link it to others cats that were mutilated and left for people to find throughout Lacey, Tumwater, and Olympia. But a Thurston County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Radio they believe Mystic was hit by a car.

Owner Crystal Worden tells ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ 7 she believes Mystic was deliberately killed.

“I saw that he had been cut open,” Worden said. “He had been cut open. This wasn’t from an animal … his skull was shattered. It was just his skull. His legs weren’t broken. It was done by a person.”

Worden said that the cat had been cut from groin to sternum.

Investigators have not publicly linked the incident to other cat mutilations that have occurred in the area since February. Worden says Joint Animal Services workers agree with her that a human killed Mystic.

A reward for information leading to the cat killer recently grew to $53,000, and is expected to rise further. Pasado’s Safe Haven has set up a to continually collect donations for the reward.

Residents around Olympia have also begun their own cat killer patrols, generally keeping an eye out for anything amiss over night. One patrol leader, Jason Cox, has promoted a theory: the cat killer is using the Woodland Park Trail to drop the bodies. Many of the cats have been discovered short distances away from the trail. The trail runs along Pacific Avenue, and is less than two miles from where Mystic’s body was found.

Information from ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ 7 contributed to this report.