3 weeks after a child’s bones were found near Tri-Cities, little is known about the death
It’s been three weeks since the bones of a child were found, apparently in a shallow grave, in rural Benton County.
Investigators say they know it’s a kid who disappeared last year but it could be months before they know how the child died.
And for now officials haven’t said who the child is or revealed information about the investigation.
A group of hikers discovered the bones south of Highway 397 near Finley Road early Feb. 5, according to Benton County Sheriff’s officials.
The Benton County Coroner’s Office, working with detectives and a forensic anthropologist, said the bones belonged to a child reported missing from the area in 2021.
While the child’s family has been notified, the name hasn’t been released to the public.
And Coroner Bill Leach said the investigation into how the child died could take months.
Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Erickson said detectives are working with an another local jurisdiction on the case but couldn’t confirm which agency.
In 2021, Pasco police asked for the public’s help finding 8-year-old Edgar Casian, who hadn’t been seen for nine months.
His mother Maria Quintero told the Herald last June that she called police and Washington state Child Protective Services several times after her ex-boyfriend took custody of their son and two daughters, Briseida, 9, and Luna, 3.
The two girls fled from a hotel room in Mexico in May 2021 and told officials they had been abused. When they were found, the older girl was not able to eat, walk or use the restroom by herself.
Their discovery led police to wonder what happened to Edgar.
His father, Edgar Casian-Garcia and his girlfriend, Araceli Medina are still on the run and wanted on charges of first-degree assault of a child.
When contacted last week by the Herald, Maria Quintero said she was not able to talk at that moment and could not be reached later in the week.
Two Facebook sites dedicated to missing person cases are claiming that the bones are Edgar, though they did not identify their source of information.
One is Birmingham, Ala.-based Missing Persons Advocacy Network, and the other is Washington-based Bringing Misty Copsey Home.
The boy was last seen by Pasco police in September 2020 after his mom asked police to check on her three children.
Before the COVID pandemic, she had traveled from California to Portland to see her kids and their grandmother for visits. The last time she saw them was in February 2020.
The following month, the children’s father demanded custody of the kids and the grandmother handed them over to him, Quintero told the Herald at the time.
Since then, Quintero said she’d been concerned about their well-being but felt her concerns weren’t taken seriously until she was called when her daughters were found in Mexico.
That’s when authorities issued an alert for Edgar, described as 4-foot, 60 pounds, in June 2021.