In Loving Memory of Justin D. Burkhart

In August of 2009 Justin Drew Burkhart was reported to be a missing person. After 10 months of investigation which included multiple searches of the Deschutes River by Deschutes County Search and Rescue divers, no leads into Burkhart's disappearance were established.

Victim Information:
Justin Drew Burkhart
Date of Birth: 5/2/81.
On 6/7/10 at about 1205 hrs. a City of Bend employee reported found what appeared to be a body in the Deschutes River below Newport Bridge near the spillway.
City of Bend Police Department assisted by Deschutes County Search and Rescue divers removed a body from the river. Deschutes County Search and Rescue recovered a body Monday afternoon, from the spillway just off Mirror Pond. This is the same stretch of river that was searched extensively in November.
Two divers were in the water, taking photos to determine the best way to lift the body out, as carefully as possible.
Detectives say it was wedged in one of the spillway's dikes, the wall used to regulate water levels in the spillway.
"From here we'll take the body to the medical examiner and the medical examiner will attempt to do two things. One will be to determine, if we can determine, a cause of death and then of course the identity of this person," says Lt. Ben Gregory with Bend Police.
Justin Burkhart, a 28 year old Bend man who went missing under mysterious circumstances, in August of 2009. Burkhart was last seen near the footbridge in Drake Park after midnight August 1, 2009.
"I don't think we have a recent event, as a matter of fact, now that this body has been recovered. As far as this particular body, ya know, we are not going to be out gathering anything up river because it's a recent event. We believe this body, this person, has been in the water for some time," says Lt. Gregory. Police say foul play has not be ruled out at this time.

UPDATE 6/8/2010
From Bend Police Press Release
Date & Time of Incident: 6/7/10 1205 hrs.
Type of Incident: Recovered body
Location of Incident: Deschutes River near Newport Bridge
On 6/8/10 an autopsy was performed on the body.
Evidence found during the recovering and autopsy lead investigators to believe the subject is Justin Drew Burkhart. Some of the evidence found was personal items believed to be possessed by Burkhart at the time of his disappearance to include personal identification in Burkhart's name. This case will be referred to the District Attorney's Office for review.
Burkhart was last seen near the footbridge in Drake Park after midnight.

UPDATE 6/9/2010 -
Bend Police have used dental records to confirm that the body pulled from the Deschutes River near downtown Bend is that of Justin Burkhart. Prior identification had been considered preliminary because it was based on items found on the body, including Burkhart's personal identification. Police say foul play has not be ruled out at this time.
Answers are still needed. The circumstances are too strange for this to have been just an accident.

http://kohd.com/news/local/177731
http://www.ktvz.com/video/23853810/index.html

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News & Politics

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• Justin
• Burkhart

[rubytues08]

Thank you Marissa for your awesome dedication to putting this video together for me, Justin's mother. I am forever indebted to you my friend. Love you always.

[funnybear15]

Beautiful video;Great job it's amazing..Rest In Peace Justin..May you find justice

[gmasheryl]

BEAUTIFUL, JUST BEAUTIFUL!!!!!