Body found last week may be missing Tri-Cities man. He was reported murdered a year ago

Investigators believe they have found the body of a man who disappeared nearly a year ago.

Police have been searching for Anibal Arreola since April 2024 when his brother reported hearing that the 39-year-old had been tied up, shot and dumped in the Columbia River.

While three people — Jason H. L. Bennett, 41, Javier J. Santana, 48, and Kimberly R. Salas, 47 — are charged with premeditated first-degree murder, his body remained missing.

Dive teams and investigators searched but came up empty handed.

Then sometime last week, a body turned up in Benton County. This week, Franklin County Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Astley said during a hearing that they are Arreola’s remains.

Benton County Coroner Bill Leach told the Tri-City Herald that officials are trying to use DNA to confirm that the body is Arreola.

Kennewick police are leading the investigation but the suspects are charged in Franklin County after it was learned Arreola was allegedly killed at a Pasco home.

Kennewick Commander Isaac Merkl told the Herald that they are not ready to share more details about the body because they are continuing to investigate.

Santana and Bennett remain in the Franklin County jail, and Salas is in Montana on unrelated charges.

Murder Investigation

Police learned Arreola disappeared on March 12, 2024, and there were rumors that he’d been killed. His cellphone use and social media posts also ended that day, court documents said.

Salas reportedly called him that day, and a witness heard her “telling him off.” He responded by saying he would “be right over.” And data showed he went to her home on the 1700 block of Brown Street.

Salas and Arreola both allegedly were drug sellers. And investigators allege Salas arranged his death because he owed about $800 to a supplier.

Santana allegedly told a witness that he shot Arreola six time and Salas stabbed him. She allegedly took photos of his body as confirmation of his death for her dealer.

The suspected dealer has not been charged in the murder.

Arreola’s body was reportedly put into a garbage can and loaded into the back of a truck on March 13.

They allegedly drove to the Vernita Bridge and dumped the taped-up garbage can into the Columbia River near the Grant County side of the bridge, near the north end of the Hanford nuclear site.

Dive teams had searched the area in the past, but hadn’t found the garbage can or body.

Officials have not said where or how the body was found last week.

This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 12:22 PM.