He was declared dead after disappearing. Tri-Cities pair is charged with cashing his benefits

It has been two years and two months since Nathan D. Rich was last seen alive.

The Pasco man would be 26 now.

But police believe Rich is no longer alive, and might not have even made it to his 25th birthday.

Just three months after reporting him missing, Rich’s girlfriend and another man applied for Washington state welfare benefits in his name and took the money for seven months.

No one has been charged in Rich’s presumed death. But Mira F. Fitzhugh and Corey G. Silva have been fighting allegations they pretended to be the dead man.

Silva, 34, was arrested last week on a bench warrant for missing a January court hearing. He’s back out after posting $100 bail Thursday.

Judges have been issuing nominal bail amounts for wanted defendants to get their cases back on track, but keep them out of jail during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitzhugh, 41, currently is scheduled for trial in mid-April.

Both are charged in Franklin County Superior Court with second-degree identity theft, financial fraud — unlawful possession of payment instruments, and first-degree theft by welfare fraud, all felonies.

The two have denied any involvement in Rich’s disappearance.

Nevada trip

Rich was last seen Dec. 15, 2018, after being released from jail.

A missing person report was filed Dec. 31, 2018, with the Pasco Police Department.

Fitzhugh, who’d been dating Rich, claimed that Rich set off on foot for Nevada to visit family over the Christmas holiday.

But Detective Julie Lee has told the media she doesn’t believe Rich ever left the Tri-Cities, whether hitchhiking or by other means.

Rich was featured in May 2019 on the “For the Missing: Pacific Northwest” Facebook group, which highlights missing children and adults from the Pacific Northwest.

Lee reportedly discovered the financial fraud in the fall of 2019.

Audio, video evidence

According to court documents, Fitzhugh and Silva contacted the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services on March 14, 2019, and used Rich’s personal information to apply for benefits.

Then, after receiving an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card issued in Rich’s name, the pair went shopping at various stores around the Tri-Cities and outside of the area, documents said.

The card was reloaded every month through September, when investigators uncovered the scheme and ended it.

Lee got audio recordings from the Department of Social and Health Services related to Rich’s application and determined the two voices on the messages belonged to Fitzhugh and Silva.

The detective also got surveillance footage from several stores that showed Fitzhugh using the EBT card to buy food, court documents said.

A search of Fitzhugh’s home — one year after she reported Rich missing — turned up his EBT card inside his girlfriend’s wallet and written documents that belonged to him.

Fitzhugh admitted to reinstating her boyfriend’s state benefits and using all of the money that was transferred onto the card, documents said.

Silva also admitted helping Fitzhugh but, when asked what name he gave on his call to DSHS, he allegedly said he needed an attorney and ended the interview with police.

Declared dead

Then in January 2020, Pasco police announced that Rich’s disappearance had been reclassified as a homicide.

Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary also issued a death certificate, though the cause of death is undetermined.

Investigators have said they hope someone can lead them to Rich’s remains, so maybe they can get some answers for his loved ones.

Police have other information that Rich is dead, but are being cautious about how much they release to the public since it is still an open investigation, Sgt. Rigo Pruneda previously told the Tri-City Herald.

Rich was described as 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes.

He has a tattoo of a mushroom on his right shoulder and “702” on his left arm. He was wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat, a black leather jacket, jeans and hiking boots, and was carrying a dark Nike duffel bag.

Anyone with information on Rich or his whereabouts is asked to call the dispatch center at 509-628-0333 to speak with Pasco police, or email Detective Lee at leej@pasco-wa.gov.

This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 5:00 AM.