A Vancouver, Wash., teen was arrested Saturday in connection with the suspicious death of another 16-year-old boy found dead at the French Prairie rest area on Interstate 5 northbound between Aurora and Wilsonville earlier this week.
Oregon State Police detectives said the suspect, also a 16-year-old boy, was an acquaintance of the victim. Both boys were from Vancouver.
State troopers were called out to the French Prairie rest area after 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 16 on a report of a dead body inside a parked vehicle.
Investigators at the scene and subsequent examination by the Washington State Medical Examiner’s Office determined the victim died from a gunshot wound.
On Monday, Feb. 1, Oregon State Police, on authority from the Clackamas County district attorney’s office, identified the victim as Juan Tomas Santos Bautista.
Through continued investigation, detectives were able to identify the suspect and obtain an arrest warrant.
The suspect was booked into the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center on murder, assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
