This photo of Ben Eastman was shared on social media by family members after he was reported missing Wednesday. On Thursday, deputies found a body in a shallow grave while investigating the disappearance. The body has not been formally identified yet.
Lewis County Sheriff’s deputies following up on a report of a missing 16-year-old boy in Randle found a body Thursday in a shallow grave off Cispus Road.
The body has not been positively identified, pending an autopsy, Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey told The Chronicle Friday.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office announced the autopsy is scheduled to take place on Saturday. The identity of the person, cause and manner of death will be released after that time.
In the meantime, deputies are searching for two people who they want to interview further about the case — Benito Marquez, 16, and his brother Jonathan Adamson, 21.
“There will be additional media releases when the two individuals are contacted,” Kimsey said.
Kimsey noted he could not release details about the case to the media at this time.
“We’re holding some information pretty tight,” he said.
At 7 a.m. on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office received a report of a 16-year-old boy who was either missing or had run away.
The boy, identified by family and friends on social media as Benjamin E. Eastman, reportedly lived with his father in Randle, but hadn’t been seen since Saturday.
“Prior to reporting him missing to law enforcement, family and friends attempted to locate the juvenile, but were unsuccessful,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s Office.
Eastman was supposed to meet up with friends that evening, but the friend — Marquez — said Eastman never showed up. He said he hadn’t seen the missing boy in several days, according to deputies.
On Thursday, deputies were following up on leads in the case. At 4 p.m., their investigation led them to a shallow grave at a remote property off Cispus Road reportedly belonging to a relative of Marquez’s, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Initialy deputies were advised the gravesite was for a dog that had recently died, but felt the information was suspicious in light of (the) recent report of the runaway/missing juvenile,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies found the grave, and discovered it contained a dead body.
“It is unknown at this time if the discovery of this gravesite and body are connected to the missing juvenile,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Kimsey said the grave is believed to be a few days old. No information on an apparent cause of death has been released.
Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office at (360) 748-9286.
