Waitsburg man charged with alleged murder in 2017 death of Alaska woman

On December 20, 2019, at approximately 1 p.m., the Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Alaska State Police, with a nationwide extraditable homicide warrant for Isaac David Friday. The Alaska authorities advised that they had information indicating Friday was residing in Waitsburg, WA.

Due to the nature of the warrant and the criminal history of Friday, a tactical operation plan was developed by the Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office. Several members of the Walla Walla Regional SWAT team were activated in an attempt to safely take Friday into custody. Search warrants for the residence and for the cellular location data from Friday’s phone were obtained but neither were ultimately executed.

At approximately 2:16 p.m., a Columbia County deputy located the suspect’s vehicle and Friday was detained at the Dayton Mercantile at 516 West Main Street in Dayton, WA. Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office Deputies subsequently took custody of the suspect on the confirmed warrant. Friday was transported to Walla Walla County Jail, where he was booked without incident and held on a $500,000 bond.

Alaska State Troopers received a report on August 15, 2017, that Jade Williams 19, was found not breathing at her residence in Kake, AK. Local EMS responded and transported Ms. Williams to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium Clinic where she was pronounced dead.  It was reported the death was suspicious. Due to weather, Troopers were unable to respond from Juneau until late afternoon on August 16, 2017.  

The town of Kake, AK is on the northwest side of Kupreanof Island, on the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. Census figures list the population as 557, with 70 percent of the residents identifying as Tlingit Native American. Responding State troopers traveled over 100 miles to reach the crime scene from Juneau.