COLFAX, Wash. — Human remains found last month near Colfax have been identified as Michael Shawn Garcia, who has been missing for more than eight years.
The Whitman County Coroner’s Office identified the remains as Garcia, 57, who disappeared from Colfax in July 2016.
A citizen walking their dog discovered the skeletal remains on South Palouse River Road approximately two-thirds of a mile outside Colfax on Dec. 22 at about 12:30 a.m. Officers from the Colfax Police Department and Whitman County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.
Due to advanced decomposition and the time that has elapsed, officials were unable to determine the cause and manner of death. The coroner’s office has notified Garcia’s next of kin.
The investigation remains active. Police are asking anyone with additional information to contact Investigator Carlos Trevino or Chief Mike Melcher at the Colfax Police Department.
Multiple agencies assisted in the investigation, including the King County Medical Examiner’s Office Anthropology Services and the Washington Attorney General’s Office Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Cold Case Unit.
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