GPS data, blood evidence, stickers key to case in disappearance of Kent man

CLE ELUM, Wash. — A GPS watch, fragments of window stickers and a trail of blood evidence helped investigators build the murder case against the man charged with killing a Kent man who vanished during a hunting trip more than six years ago, according to newly filed court documents.

Jorge Oma Alcantara-Gonzalez, 40, was charged this week in Kittitas County Superior Court with murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of Ian P. Eckles, 46, who was last seen May 16, 2020, in the remote Liberty area east of Cle Elum.

Eckles’ body has never been found.

A probable cause affidavit filed by the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office lays out a detailed case relying on electronic tracking data, DNA evidence, witness accounts and photo and video evidence.

Investigators say Alcantara-Gonzalez drove a stolen 1999 Ford Expedition to Kittitas County before Eckles went missing. Court documents tie Alcantara-Gonzalez to a series of burglaries in the area, including thefts of firearms, ammunition and camping supplies. He eventually settled into the Mineral Springs area, near where Eckles planned to camp and hunt.

The stolen Expedition was registered to Nancy Holste, a North Bend woman found dead at her home during a welfare check on May 11, 2020. Holste had been dead for approximately six weeks, and the vehicle was reported stolen at that time. A laminated wood recurve bow inside the SUV had been reported stolen in Kittitas County in April 2020, and the vehicle was also connected to a separate burglary earlier that month.

Alcantara-Gonzalez later admitted he had been at Holste’s home and pleaded guilty to stealing the Expedition.

Eckles traveled to the Liberty area on the evening of May 16, 2020, intending to camp solo before meeting his hunting partner the following morning, probable cause documents say. His phone last pinged near the intersection of State Route 970 and Highway 10 around 7 p.m. Saturday night.

His hunting partner went out alone when Eckles didn’t show at 4:30 a.m., but quit around 9:30 a.m. due to rain. The friend then checked their usual camping spots, but there was no sign of Eckles.

Alcantara-Gonzalez’s Garmin GPS wristwatch — which he wore from January through May 23, 2020 — placed him near Eckles’ suspected campsite at 3:20 a.m. on May 17, roughly an hour before Eckles was due to meet his friend. The GPS recorded a stop at the campsite location, before data was turned off until May 19.

Deputies located Eckles’ 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser on May 23, 2020, hidden in brush roughly 30 yards from the stolen Expedition off a remote Forest Service road. 

Alcantara-Gonzalez emerged from the Expedition shirtless and fled into the surrounding forest. He evaded capture for 23 days before being arrested June 14 while burglarizing a home in the Teanaway Valley.

A search warrant executed on the FJ Cruiser revealed what investigators described as evidence of a violent confrontation. Forensic analysis identified two distinct bullet trajectories inside the vehicle: one fired from front to rear and a second fired from rear to front, with a bullet fragment recovered on the driver’s side front floorboard.

Investigators believe Eckles had been sleeping with his upper body positioned behind the driver’s seat, and shots were exchanged between Eckles and someone outside the vehicle.

Blood matching Eckles’ DNA was found on a sleeping pad, on the rear driver’s side seat belt buckle and strap, and in numerous other locations throughout the FJ Cruiser. A Coach wallet containing both Alcantara-Gonzalez’s license and Eckles’ license was also recovered inside.

Eckles’ sleeping bag — found inside the stolen Expedition — also tested positive for his DNA.

Witnesses who spotted the FJ Cruiser on May 23 noted the vehicle’s distinctive window stickers, which were removed by the time the vehicle was impounded. Investigators said they believe Alcantara-Gonzalez removed them to make the vehicle less recognizable, documents say.

Portions of those stickers were later found in the area where witnesses reported seeing the vehicle. Additional sticker remnants were recovered from the pockets of a vest Alcantara-Gonzalez was photographed wearing on May 3.

On May 26, while a search warrant was being executed, an officer spotted Alcantara-Gonzalez carrying a shotgun on a strap. He threw the weapon to the ground and fled. The shotgun was later identified as the one Eckles was reported to have had with him when he disappeared.

A GoPro camera and SD card recovered from the Expedition contained photographs showing Alcantara-Gonzalez using Eckles’ tent, shotgun, blankets and camping supplies. Metadata indicated those photos were taken May 20, 2020 — three days after Eckles disappeared and three days before his vehicle was found.

A separate SD card recovered when Alcantara-Gonzalez was arrested in June showed a photograph of a hand holding Eckles’ Garmin GPS unit.

Shell casings and the bullet fragment were positively identified as being tied to weapons.

One witness who encountered Alcantara-Gonzalez while mushroom hunting described the interaction with him as “strange” and said he wanted to leave. GPS data later showed Alcantara-Gonzalez had previously traveled a road he told that witness he didn’t know existed — multiple times between May 10 and May 22.

Alcantara-Gonzalez’s brother and sister both confirmed seeing him driving the Expedition and said he was experienced at navigating the backcountry, including the area where Eckles disappeared. His brother told investigators that Alcantara-Gonzalez used drugs, had mental health problems and could become very angry. 

The brother said he moved out of his home before Alcantara-Gonzalez was caught, because he feared for his safety.

More than 100 searches of the area have failed to locate Eckles’ remains. The Kittitas County Coroner’s Office has issued a presumptive death certificate, declaring Eckles deceased as of May 17, 2020.

Alcantara-Gonzalez had previously pleaded guilty to stealing Eckles’ vehicle and shotgun, identity theft and multiple burglaries. With his sentence nearing its end, detectives forwarded the case to the Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which filed the murder charge.

“Ian Eckles has never been forgotten by his family, by this office, or by the community that searched for him and followed this case,” Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers said. “We are grateful to the prosecutors who have taken on the difficult work of bringing this case before the court, and we remain committed to supporting that process.”