Kittitas County Files First-Degree Murder Charges In Connection To Missing Westside Hunter

Prosecutors in Kittitas County have filed charges against a man they say robbed and killed a King County hunter who went missing near Liberty six years ago.

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office says Ian Eckles traveled from his home in Kent to the Liberty area on May 16, 2020, and was reported missing by friends and family two days later after failing to return from the trip.

On May 23, police found Eckles' vehicle in a patch of thick brush off a remote Forest Service road in the vicinity of Mineral Springs, where they say 40-year-old Jorge Alcantara was also discovered before he fled into the surrounding forest.

A search of Eckles' vehicle turned up evidence of a violent encounter, including multiple gunshots that investigators suggest were likely responsible for his death, although his remains have never been found.

Alcantara was apprehended in the act of burglarizing a home in the Teanaway Valley area on June 14, 2020, on the 23rd day of an extensive manhunt for him in connection to Eckles' disappearance.

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Alcantara subsequently pled guilty to several felonies, including illegally being in possession of Eckles' vehicle, and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Now, as Alcantara's time behind bars nears its end, the Kittitas County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged him the the first-degree murder and first-degree robbery of Eckles, and will soon be transferring him from the custody of a state penitentiary to the Kittitas County Jail where he will await an initial hearing in court to face the new charges.

“Ian Eckles has never been forgotten by his family, by this office, or by the community that searched for him and followed this case," said Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers in a Wednesday news release. "We are grateful to the prosecutors who have taken on the difficult work of bringing this case before the court, and we remain committed to supporting that process.”

If Alcantara ends up going to trial on the new charges, he will likely face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.