By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office sent out a news release tonight saying a body was found by searchers looking for missing Morton teenager Austin King.
The brief statement doesn’t say it is the 16-year-old who vanished from his Chapman Road home a month ago, only that the body of a male was found near a logging road outside Morton today.
The news release from 7:30 p.m. says the sheriff’s office was notified at 2 p.m. today.
It said that currently detectives are processing the scene and coordinating with with Lewis County Coroner’s Office to remove the body, and an identity has not been established.
The teenager’s family had scheduled a candle light vigil for Friday evening in Gus Backstrom Park, marking a month since he disappeared.
Family and friends have been conducting organized searches for Austin since shortly after he was reported missing. The sheriff’s office has said it hasn’t done so because there was no one place to begin looking.
Austin was last seen by his mother Christy Harper at about 12:15 a.m. on June 23 when he said goodnight to her and went off to his bedroom with two buddies to watch television.
KOMO TV News spoke with the sheriff and with one of the searchers tonight. Read their news story here.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter