Missing 11-Year-Old Found Dead Boy’S Body Dumped At Deer Lake; Homicide Suspected

The body of a missing Spokane Valley boy was found dumped down an embankment here Thursday, and detectives believe his father may have been involved in his death.

Authorities don’t know how 11-year-old Christopher Wood died or how his body got so far from home, but they are treating the case as a homicide.

The boy’s father, Robert J. Wood, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on an unrelated theft charge Thursday.

Investigators also are treating the 43-year-old Wood as a “person of interest” in his son’s death, said Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

The news rattled Newman Lake residents, who had rallied to find Christopher after a fire had destroyed the family home Tuesday.

Robert Wood, a former roofing contractor, lived in the house with his son and daughter. He has a history of financial troubles and is suspected of stealing money from a real estate firm where he worked.

Reagan said he did not know if Wood had been questioned about the boy’s death or if he would be charged. He would not say why detectives think Wood may be involved in the case.

Investigators impounded the man’s white 4-wheel-drive pickup Thursday.

They also were examining a book bag and a pair of in-line skates found by a motorist near Bigelow Gulch and Forker roads Wednesday. The bag had the name Chris Wood on it, said Judy Mazurick, whose husband discovered the bag.

An autopsy on the boy’s body is scheduled for today.

Christopher was reported missing Tuesday morning shortly after flames gutted his father’s home in the 5700 block of North Blue Skies Road.

Robert Wood said the fifth-grader may have set the blaze and ran away for fear of being punished. The boy had gotten into trouble before for playing with matches, his father had said.

Wood had pleaded for his son to come home the day of the blaze.

“The house is the least of my worries,” he said. “He just needs to come home.”

The cause of the fire, which started in the basement family room, is under investigation.

Neighbors and authorities spent two days searching for the Cub Scout, who was described as outgoing and friendly.

They posted fliers at his school and used bloodhounds to scour the woods around his home. A cadaver-sniffing dog also searched the burned-out house.

They found nothing.

About 9 a.m. Thursday, a Stevens County road worker discovered a boy’s body about 10 feet off Southwood Shore Road near Deer Lake, about 40 miles north of Spokane.

The grader was closer to the edge of the road than usual because it was knocking down snow berms created Wednesday when the road was plowed.

Reagan said the victim was wearing a coat. The body had a light coating of snow that might have blown out of the snow-covered pine trees in the heavily wooded area. He said residents reported there had been little snowfall since Monday.

“We don’t know if this is where the crime occurred or whether this is a dump site,” Reagan said.

The spot is on a curve where the narrow, winding road claws its way over the flank of Deer Lake Mountain. Although heavily wooded, the area is sprinkled with houses.

Chris Forest, who lives about 100 yards away on Tamarack Bay Road, believes his dog, Lady, may have helped the grader operator find the body. He said he was told the dog kept going up and down the embankment when the grader approached.

He said the dog earlier had seemed to be trying to get his wife to go in the direction where the body was found. Forest said his wife was sitting on the porch of their home, and Lady kept running up to her and running back to the road.

Forest was shaken by the discovery.

“God, that’s sure close to home,” he said. “I’ve got eight kids myself, and I don’t like to see something like that.”

He said there is little traffic on the road, and he recalls seeing only one car that might be considered suspicious: a mid-1970s red-and-white Plymouth Duster that passed in front of his house twice within two hours on Tuesday afternoon.

“They almost ran into us,” Forest said, recalling that the car was occupied by two long-haired men who appeared to be in their 20s. He said sheriff’s deputies told him they would try to locate the car, but it might have nothing to do with the apparent homicide.

Stevens County detectives cordoned off the area and called in their counterparts in Spokane.

About 4 p.m., they identified the body as that of Christopher and notified the boy’s mother, Jolynne, who was divorced from Robert Wood in 1991.

The victim’s sister, Theresa Wood, was at a neighbor’s home in the Valley when police delivered a double dose of bad news: her brother was dead and her dad was in jail.

Detectives guarded the neighbor’s home to keep media away.

Robert Wood was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of first-degree theft.

He is suspected of stealing thousands of dollars from a real estate company he used to work for, Reagan said. Wood was being held without bail and will make his first appearance in District Court on that charge today.

Map of area where body was found

Staff writers Jonathan Martin and Angie Gaddy contributed to this report.