Body Discovered in October Identified and Determined To Be Homicide

Back in early October, 2021, Deputies and Detectives with the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a deceased male that had been shot and buried in the O’Brien area on Friday, October 8th, 2021. The reporting party did not know the area well but was able to lead law enforcement to a location in O’Brien, Oregon.  

Upon arrival, the property was immediately recognized to be an illegal marijuana grow site, where a previous marijuana search warrant had been served. The reporting party knew some details regarding the incident and was able to walk authorities to a wooded area, approximately one quarter mile from the grow site to a shallow grave.

The shallow grave was then dug up by authorities, confirming a deceased individual was buried at the location. The deceased was a Hispanic male, who was known to work on the grow site. Next of kin have been notified, however, the name of the deceased will not be released in order to protect the investigation.  

The investigation is still ongoing and further information is not available.  Anyone with information pertaining to the incident is asked to call the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office at 541-474-5123.