Body remains unidentified

MATTAWA — Grant County sheriff’s deputies continue to investigate a dead body found in a field near Mattawa Tuesday.

The Hispanic man’s identity remains unknown and there were no recent missing person cases filed in the Mattawa area, Grant County Undersheriff John Turley said.

Deputies arrived to find the man near a farm service road, roughly eight miles southeast of Mattawa, he said. The body was first located by a farmer.

Initially it appeared the man could have been shot in the head but it has not been officially determined, Turley said. The farmer who found the man told emergency dispatch he thought the man sustained a fatal gunshot injury.

“As the nighttime was approaching, it was decided to leave the deceased male in place and wait for daylight hours so that a thorough search of the area and the deceased could be conducted,” he noted. “Sheriff’s deputies cordoned off the area and posted the scene for the night.”

The investigation resumed at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Law enforcement is processing the scene using a “total station measuring device.” The device is a computer program used to measure locations and distances.

The body will be examined by the Grant County Coroner’s Office and the Samaritan Healthcare Forensics Institute.

Further information is unavailable and the investigation continues.