Bodies of missing Kentucky men found in forest near Parkdale

John Kevin Wood, 59, and Jason Anthony Wood, 32, both from Bardstown, Ky., went missing in Hood River County during September 2014.

Oregon State Police launched a missing person’s investigation after the men’s silver Kia Rio four-door sedan was found unattended on Highway 35 near Dog River Trailhead.

The trail branches off of the east side of Highway 35, about five miles south of Parkdale.

An OSP trooper checked the vehicle and noted a significant amount of hiking equipment inside, which the agency deemed unusual for someone intending to hike and park a vehicle for that length of time at that location.

The sheriff’s office initiated their own search at the time — an extensive sweep by land and airplane — but deputies were unable to locate the duo.

Almost two years later, on July 21, 2016, owl surveyors with U.S. Forest Service were in the Dog River Trail area conducting a study when they came across the bodies of the two men at sometime before 7 p.m.

Once the staffers reported what they found, officials with the sheriff’s office, Forest Service, and OSP hiked to the spot.

English said the place the bodies were found was several miles from the trailhead, across steep terrain. To access the area, officers had to crest a ridgeline.

The two dead men were identified via identification in their wallets, according to a Friday OSP log entry.

Investigators set up a crime scene investigation and completed their analysis by Friday.

“The investigation is ongoing; however evidence at the scene indicates that the men died as a result of a murder/suicide,” English said in a written statement that evening.

Details regarding the alleged murder and suicide haven’t yet surfaced. English said evidence pointed toward one of the men committing the crime, but he declined to say which.

Investigators from the three agencies are still working on the case in collaboration with the Hood River County District Attorney’s Office, the Hood River County Medical Examiner and authorities in Kentucky.

English said the analysis has moved to the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s office in Clackamas. The medical examiner is expected to complete their report within a week.