Murder warrant issued for father of Tri-Cities 8-year-old found dead in a field
A nationwide murder warrant has been issued for the father of a boy whose body was found by hikers in rural Benton County in February.
Pasco police confirmed for the first time Wednesday that the remains were 8-year-old Edgar Casian who was reported missing by his mother in May 2021.
Investigators told the Herald they decided the time was right to ask for the public’s help in finding the boy’s father Edgar Casian-Garcia and girlfriend Araceli Medina, and to allow the boy’s family to begin to heal.
The couple’s whereabouts are currently unknown, but court documents reveal they were believed to have been in Mexico as recently as February.
“We thought it would be prudent to announce the warrants today. We believe that there are people assisting (the suspects), helping them,” said Pasco police spokesman Sgt. Rigo Pruneda.
“While we didn’t really want to have it out that it was Edgar (identified) and we were looking for them, the biological mother is asking for help, and family knows his remains were found. We want to be sensitive for them and their healing.”
On Wednesday, Pasco police announced on Facebook that dental records had identified the remains as those of Edgar Casian, and that two murder warrants were issued.
Court records show the warrants were signed last week and the supporting documents were sealed by a judge.
Pruneda said the dental records positively identified the boy within about two weeks of his body being found but investigators feared revealing too much information would make it harder to capture his father and girlfriend.
But five days ago the boy’s mother, who lives in California, started a GoFundMe page to help pay for her son’s funeral and, even though it was closed the same day, investigators knew other information was likely to spread among relatives and friends.
“As much as we would like for (the suspects) not to know these warrants are out for them, it was time to announce that we do have warrants and have identified the remains as Edgar. Obviously, for our investigation we were hoping to arrest them before they found out, but that hasn’t been able to happen,” said Pruneda.
Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant said his office coordinated with Pasco police and hopes the announcement will be the break they need to track down the suspects.
Sant urged anyone with information to reach out, even if they wish to remain anonymous.
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
Missing boy
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, ages 9 and 3 at the time.
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.
Search warrant
Last week, Maureen Astley, the deputy prosecuting attorney in the case, requested the murder warrants in connection with Edgar’s disappearance, 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 the Pasco police were working closely with the U.S. Marshals Service on the case.
Before the boy’s remains were located a detective had spoken to a witness who was in communication in February with Casian-Garcia.
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.
Death investigations
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.
