Man sought in Auburn homicide

The Auburn Police Department released a composite sketch of a man they believe may know something about the murder of Auburn resident Susan Waters, 41.Waters' body was found partially clothed near the front entrance of the SBC Communications building on Lincoln Way ? just a block from the police department Sept. 6.Auburn Det. Mike Garlock said a man was seen in the area where Waters' body was found."He was described by a witness as a white male 42 to 50 years old, 6 feet tall, weighing about 190 to 200 pounds, with dark brown hair," Garlock said. "He has been associated with an early '80s four-door tan sedan."Police are interested in talking to the man in the hope that he may be able to provide important information to the case.Garlock said the department could account for Waters' whereabouts up until 10 p.m. Friday night Sept. 5."She was last seen at the Shanghai Bar in Old Town," Garlock said. "We don't know if she left the bar alone or not."Judy Waters, 48, of Auburn and sister of the victim, said she continues to keep in close contact with police and remains optimistic they will soon find the person responsible for her sister's death." I need some closure," Judy Waters said Wednesday. "Finding the murderer would give me that closure."An SBC employee phoned police around 1:15 a.m. Saturday Sept. 6, after discovering Waters' body hidden in bushes near the building's entrance.Her death was originally considered "suspicious." An autopsy determined that Waters was the victim of foul play ? however, officials declined to release the exact cause of death due to the ongoing investigation, saying only that "her death has been ruled a homicide.""Susie was a fighter ? she had to have been taken off guard," Judy Waters said. "She wouldn't back down. She was a tough little girl."Auburn Det. Dale Hutchins recently presented the Waters case at a cold-case homicide investigation conference in Santa Barbara."The Waters case was presented and reviewed by 25 to 30 investigators from all over California," Hutchins said.They pooled their collective minds and experience to assist the investigation in any way possible."We wanted to get a fresh perspective on the case," Hutchins said.Hutchins said police have narrowed the time of her murder to between the hours of 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday morning."We have no leads at this point," Garlock said. "None."Waters attended the Gold Country Fair earlier that Saturday. As far as Judy Waters knows, her sister went to the fair alone."She caught the bus to the fair, then went to the bar after," Judy Waters said. "I don't know if someone took her there or if she went alone."The family Waters left behind is doing their best to cope without her."She never got to see her third grandbaby or her son in uniform," Judy Waters said. "She got cheated by early death, but so did we."There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest."We want to get the person(s) that did this," Hutchins said.Anyone who may have seen Waters on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Shanghai Bar or early Saturday Sept. 6, is asked to call Det. Garlock at (530) 823-4237, Ext. 221, or call Placer County Crime Stoppers to leave anonymous information at (800) 923-8191.