Somewhere north of Ellensburg, in Kittitas County, lies the truth. And this victim.

Kittitas County Sheriff still searching for missing man, believed murdered

Law enforcement officers have commented this week about a two-year-old disappearance of a man north of Ellensburg, whose strongly suspected of having been murdered.

Ian Eckles (pictured) disappeared on or very close to May 17th, 2020. He was last seen in the Liberty, WA area, which is about 22 miles north of Ellensburg, off Highway 97.   According to the Kittitas County Sheriff's office, it is believed Eckles was murdered, and the body buried or hidden somewhere between Liberty and Ellensburg.

According to the Kittitas County Sheriff:

"The suspect in his murder is in prison, convicted of various crimes, but has not provided information about Ian's resting place."

 Eckles disappeared while out hunting turkeys, said authorities. A suspect in the case, Jorge Alcantara Gonzalez, was found to be in possession of Eckle's vehicle, and after a 23-day massive manhunt, was captured. He's currently serving 8 years on a wide variety of charges, but the murder of Eckles is not one of them.

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Gonzalez is believed to have killed him but has not given up any information about where the body might be located. The initial search was done by Kittitas County Deputies, along with ICE officials and U.S. Marshals.

 Sheriff's Department says they have not forgotten about the case

A statement from the Sheriff Thursday read in part:

"We're still searching--and we ask the public to be aware that Ian is out there, somewhere. Anyone in the woods and mountains around Mineral Springs or Liberty, or in the surrounding areas, might see the clue that leads us to finally find Ian. If you or anyone you know spends time in these areas, please be curious about scraps of clothing or pieces of bone you come across."

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Department is in Ellensburg, (509) 962-7525.

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