Most Ponderay, Sandpoint sightings of Okanogan double homicide suspect disproven, police say

The hunt for an Okanogan County double homicide suspect has simmered down after Ponderay police have disproved most reported sightings of him.

Dylan Harrington, 27, is wanted by the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office on suspicion of double homicide and concealment of a body in the deaths of Dave Covey, 80, and Geralyn Covey, 66, in February 2022.

Ponderay police said in a news release Saturday they received multiple reports of sightings of Harrington in the Ponderay and Sandpoint areas and urged people to contact law enforcement if seen.

On Wednesday, Ponderay police Chief Jimmy Cornelius said the first two possible sightings of Harrington turned out to be a local man who looked similar after the U.S. Marshals reviewed video surveillance.

Once the news release was sent out, more reports flooded in, Cornelius said.

“It’s common. Anytime you put out a picture, everybody starts seeing that person everywhere,” he said.

Local Sandpoint restaurant owner Brandon Emch said nobody locks their doors in the town. That’s just the small-town way, he said.

But as soon as the news broke that Harrington may be in the area, that’s when locks started turning.

It took about 48 hours, Emch said, until word spread that the sightings of Harrington weren’t credible. Then Sandpoint went back to its old ways.

“Just a guy in town that looks like him,” Emch said. “All this for nothing.”

Cornelius and Ponderay police Sgt. Jeremy Deal said they received sighting reports coming from the Taco Bell and McDonald’s on Tuesday night, but that was a local person, too.

“Everything that has been reported that we were able to follow up on, all have been dispelled,” Deal said.

At the time of the homicides, the Coveys’ family members reached out to the sheriff’s office and asked for a welfare check. The couple was found dead a day later after volunteers, drones and rescue teams scoured the property on the ninth mile of Nealy Road in Chesaw, Washington.

Harrington is “known to live off the land” and is able to survive in remote areas, police said. But law enforcement hasn’t been combing through forests just yet, since there isn’t anything extremely credible to work with.

“He may not even still be alive,” Cornelius said. “I mean, it’s been almost two years.”

According to police, Harrington is white, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, around 145 pounds and has brown hair and hazel eyes. There is a warrant out for his arrest.

Police said he is armed and dangerous. If seen, do not approach him.

Those with more information on Harrington’s whereabouts are encouraged to contact Bonner County Dispatch at (208) 265-5525 or the United States Marshals Service at (877) 926-8332. There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.