TOPPENISH, Wash. -- A week into the new year, Yakima County sheriff's detectives have launched the county's first homicide investigation of 2010.
But the case may stretch back into 2009 because Fernando Figueroa's family says he was last seen Dec. 30.
Family members said he got a phone call and said he'd be back from a meeting in 10 or 20 minutes, said Stew Graham, chief of detectives for the sheriff's office.
The Yakima man apparently suffered at least one gunshot wound. His body, wrapped in plastic, was dumped off a bridge into a canal near the intersection of Campbell and Marion Drain roads, southwest of Toppenish, Graham said.
Relatives reported him missing to Yakima police on Jan. 1. His 21st birthday would have been Jan. 3.
A woman who identified herself of Figueroa's mother-in-law called the Herald-Republic on Wednesday to complain about the investigation, saying she didn't believe authorities had taken the missing persons report seriously.
Other relatives and friends who also asked not to be identified said Figueroa grew up in Yakima and had recently married. He was described as a "very caring, lovable and respectful person, willing to help out in any way he could to anyone."
Graham said relatives decided Thursday to search the Lower Valley for Figueroa's body, in part because a black Dodge Charger he'd been driving was discovered outside of Wapato earlier this week.
They called the Sheriff's Office after seeing shoes sticking out of about a foot of water in the canal, which is one of only a few flowing year-round in that part of the Lower Valley.
A property owner along Jones Road, outside of Wapato, had the Charger towed away Tuesday after it was left on his property, investigators said.
Graham said Yakima police detectives who searched the car found no evidence of a crime.
Yakima police Sgt. Scot Levno declined to identify the car's owner or give many other details, saying it was the county's investigation.
Graham said detectives would begin trying to track Figueroa's movements since he was last seen.
Authorities called Figueroa a known gang member. In July, he was charged with first-degree robbery and had been out on $50,000 bail while awaiting trial, state Superior Court records show.
In 2005, he was found guilty of a drug possession and firearms charge, and was sentenced as a juvenile to more than a year.
Relatives said there was more to Figueroa.
"He wasn't this image they're painting," one family friend said. "We all have flaws. He was definitely a person I could depend on and trust."
Last year, authorities recorded 25 homicides in Yakima County. About a third were considered gang-related. Police have made arrests or identified suspects in 12 of the cases.
Anyone with information concerning the Figueroa homicide should contact the Yakima Sheriff's Office at 509-574-2500 or Crime Stoppers at 509-248-9980.
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/07/body-found-in-toppenish-canal-ruled-a-homicide
I want to see a picture of him!
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