Sheriff says wood cutter killed by people he helped
11/17/2004, 3:38 p.m. PT
The Associated Press
OKANOGAN, Wash. (AP) ? Authorities have arrested two men and are seeking a third in the killing of a Tonasket wood cutter, the Okanogan County sheriff's office said Wednesday.
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Leonard J. Bauer, 40, had been missing since Nov. 7, when he drove off to cut wood. Authorities later found his pickup truck on the Colville Indian Reservation, but turned up no sign of Bauer.
His body was found early Wednesday morning near Tunk Mountain just north of the reservation in far north-central Washington.
Seymour X. Reuben and Devin D. Palmanteer, both 18, were arrested for investigation of Bauer's killing and for theft, Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers said. Deputies also were searching for Ryan W. Adolph Louie, 20, who was believed to be in the Spokane area. All three are from the Omak area.
Investigators focused on finding the owners of a vehicle that wrecked near where Bauer was last seen cutting wood. The owner, a woman believed to be Reuben's girlfriend, told authorities she had lent the car to Reuben that day.
Authorities interviewed Reuben at the Okanogan County Jail, where he had recently been jailed on other charges. He confessed to the shooting and agreed to take deputies to Bauer's body, which was found about 60 yards off the road down an embankment, covered with debris, Rogers said.
Bauer was cutting wood when the three men wrecked their vehicle. He offered to give them a ride if they helped him finish cutting wood, which they did, Rogers said.
They were driving back when Bauer stopped to pick up a log that had fallen from his pickup. Without provocation, Reuben shot Bauer in the head, and the other two men dragged his body off the road and covered it with brush, Rogers said.
The sheriff called the killing "a senseless act."
Bauer's family, who had publicly pleaded for information about the disappearance a day earlier, was notified of the arrests and discovery of the body early Wednesday morning.
Bert Lewis, Bauer's stepfather, said the family, while mourning, was relieved to finally know what happened after so many days of searching.
"The main thing is, we didn't want him to be laying out in the woods all winter," Lewis said.
A neighbor of Bauer's also had offered a $10,000 reward Tuesday for information in the disappearance. The sheriff said the reward did not play a role in the arrests.
