Anchorage Daily News

Police are investigating as a homicide the mysterious death of a 48-year-old Anchorage woman.

Mia Soltis, a dancer at the Crazy Horse, was found dead on the deck of a Jewel Lake home Sunday afternoon, one day after her purse had been found by a man walking his dog in the neighborhood and a few hours after her father had reported her missing. She was last seen early Saturday morning at work, police said.

Jeannette Johnson, owner of the Crazy Horse, said Soltis left the club around 1 a.m., after her shift ended.

"I talked with the doorman and he said he walked her out around 1 o'clock and she got into a cab," Johnson said.

Other than that, little was known late Sunday afternoon as police continued to look for clues around the Thurman Drive house where Soltis was found.

Anchorage police spokesman Paul Honeman said he didn't know how Soltis died, when she died, or why she was at the house.

"She does not live in the house," he said. "We do not know her connection to the house."

The owners or occupants of the house weren't home when police arrived, Honeman said. Police entered the home to make sure everything was OK but didn't find anyone.

A neighbor said she heard popping sounds around noon Sunday. Betsy Balts, who lives about four houses away, described herself as a shooter familiar with guns and said she knows the difference between gunfire and other popping sounds. But she said her television was too loud for her to know for sure if what she heard was gunfire.

Honeman said Soltis was found shortly before 1 p.m. by someone going door-to-door in the neighborhood. The deck on which she was found led to the main entrance of the house, he said.

A day earlier, a man found Soltis' purse while walking his dog in the neighborhood.

The man called police Saturday morning to say he'd found a purse, and police -- who were investigating a fatal hit-and-run at the time -- said they would get back to him. The man called back a little while later to say he was leaving town for the day.

Honeman said because the report involved found property, it was considered a low priority and was "stacked," or canceled, after the man called the second time to say he'd be out of town for the day.

The man called again Sunday morning to say he was back in town. Not much later, Soltis' father called to say his daughter was missing.

The officer who took the missing person's report called Honeman around 1 p.m. to ask him if a photo of the woman could be sent to the media, in the hope someone would spot her. Minutes later, Honeman heard that a body had been found on Thurman Drive.

By then, police had retrieved the lost purse. They realized the purse belonged to the dead woman and that the dead woman was the woman who had been reported missing.

Johnson, who said Soltis started working at the Crazy Horse a few months ago, said she heard from the woman's family Saturday.

"Her husband called her mom, she called me, and I called the doorman," she said. She said she was under the impression Soltis was living in a different part of town than Jewel Lake.

Johnson said Soltis had two children, ages 14 and 5. She was hoping to start her own business soon.

"She wasn't a big drinker or drug user or anything," Johnson said.

HIT-AND-RUN KILLING

Anchorage has had three homicides this year, but Soltis' death is one of two possible homicides police investigated over the weekend.

Tyler Meyer, 29, was killed early Saturday morning after being struck by a hit-and-run driver and dragged for about two blocks. The driver could be charged with manslaughter depending on what police learn, Honeman said.

The hit-and-run happened sometime between 3:40 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. off Raspberry Road at Cranberry Street and 69th Avenue -- not far from where Soltis was found on Thurman Drive, near Raspberry and Jewel Lake Road.

"I don't think (investigators) are thinking there's any connection," Honeman said. "Anything's possible, but I think police are looking at them as two separate incidents."

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4309.

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