A Woodland man was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail after a caller reported he said he had killed someone and that the person’s body was hidden on his property, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said Cowlitz 911 received a report at 6:53 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, about “suspicious circumstances” in the 3600 block of Old Lewis River Road.
The reporting party told dispatchers they had just spoken with a family member, identified by investigators as 67-year-old Ricky Dean Miller, and that Miller said someone had been killed.
Deputies responded to the address and contacted Miller, the sheriff’s office said.
Detectives later obtained a search warrant for the property.
During the search, investigators said they found the body of an adult man who was known to Miller, and that the man had been hidden on Miller’s property.
Miller was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators said they are not releasing the identity of the deceased man yet because the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office is still trying to contact the person’s next of kin.
The sheriff’s office described the case as an active investigation and said no additional details were available for release.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective James Hanberry at 360-577-3092, according to the sheriff’s office.
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