PASCO — A nationwide murder warrant has been issued for the father of a boy whose body was found in rural Benton County in February.
Pasco Police initiated a missing child report for 8-year-old Edgar Casian in May 2021, but they were unable to find him.
On Feb. 5, 2022 hikers on a morning walk in rural Benton County found what they believed were human remains, and alerted police.
Local agencies investigated and recovered the remains of a child, but did not release his identity at the time.
On Wednesday, Pasco Police announced on social media that dental records had identified the remains as those of Edgar Casian.
They also announced a nationwide arrest warrant had been issued for his dad Edgar Casian-Garcia and girlfriend Araceli Medina on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Their whereabouts are currently unknown.
Anyone with information should contact their local authorities and Pasco Police Detective Jon Davis at davisj@pasco-wa.gov and refer to Pasco case #21-15039
The boy’s 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.
Casian-Garcia and his girlfriend were on the run and warrants for first-degree assault of a child were issued.
Last week, Maureen Astley, the deputy prosecuting attorney in the case, requested the new warrants, and that they be sealed in order to avoid tipping off Casian-Garcia and Medina.
In the request to seal the documents, Astley wrote that detectives notified the boy’s mother about the new warrants, and that she was supportive.
Astley said the Pasco Police Department has been working closely with the U.S. Marshals Service on the case. Before the boy’s remains were located Detective Davis had spoken to a witness who was in communication with Casian-Garcia in February.
The witness told Davis that Casian-Garcia and Medina said they were in Mexico and asked the friend to wire money to him at a Mexican Walmart.
Detectives believe the money was not picked up because the suspects may have been in contact with friends in the area, who may have given them information about developments in the case seen in the media.
Astley said U.S. Marshals officials believed that reporting on the missing boy made it difficult to find the suspects, and requested elevating the charges with updated warrants, hoping that more serious charges would increase the chance of extradition once they are arrested.
The request said prosecutors would move to unseal the warrants once an arrest was made. Superior Court Judge Jacqueline Stam approved the request to seal several documents on April 7, including an affidavit of probable cause for murder issued Feb. 23.
At the time, this was the third body or human remains found in the past year in Benton County.
Deputies are continuing to investigate a body found in a field between Finley and Plymouth in April 2021. While investigators say they have identified the body, they haven’t determined how the person died.
Deputies also are continuing to investigate the death of Hector Cortez-Ballardo whose body was discovered by a postal worker off Highway 395 near Bateman and Bofer Canyon roads.
