Bodies found near Kent identified as missing Pierce County men; all three were shot to death
Published 3:59 pm Friday, March 25, 2011
The three men found March 10 in a plant nursery near Kent were identified Friday by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as the three missing Pierce County men.
All three died from gunshot wounds, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The men are Jesus Avila-Bejar, 25; Yazmani Quezada-Ortiz, 26; and Cristian Rangel, 29, according to a King County Sheriff’s Office media release.
The men lived in Lakewood and Tacoma.
All three left their homes on Dec. 12 to go to work at a florist shop in Seattle. They rode in Quezada-Ortiz’ truck and left sometime after 3 p.m. They never returned home.
The next day their families reported them missing to Lakewood Police.
On Dec. 14, the truck was found abandoned at a Kent apartment complex in the 6200 block of James Street.
Two bodies were found by an employee of Rainier Nursery (unincorporated King County near Kent) on March 10. During the investigation of the scene the third body was found. It appeared the three had been dead for quite some time.
No one has been arrested for the triple homicide. Detectives from the Sheriff’s Office and Lakewood Police are investigating.
Detectives would like to hear from anyone who has information about this crime, or anyone who may have seen the three after they left Lakewood on Dec. 12.
If someone has information about the case, they are asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311 (24 hours) or e-mail a tip to MCUTips.KCSO@kingcounty.gov.
