HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION

Josephine Co. Sheriff's Office

On Oct. 8^th, 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. The reporting party did not know the area well but was able to lead law enforcement (LE) to a location off Samarkand Drive in O’Brien, Oregon.  

Upon arrival, LE recognized the property 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 LE to a wooded area, approximately one quarter mile from the grow site to a shallow grave. LE dug up the shallow grave and confirmed 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 Josephine County Major Crimes Team was activated for this incident which consists of the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, Grants Pass Police, Oregon State Police and the Josephine County District Attorney’s Office.  

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.