A Bureau of Land Management ranger discovered the body of a Vancouver man last week in western Arizona.
A driver’s license in the man’s pocket identified him as Terry Franklin Smith of Vancouver.
On the afternoon of Aug. 24, the ranger called the Quartzsite Police Department. giving the location of a body in the La Posa South designated wash area located east of State Route 95 at Milepost 101.5, according to a department news release.
Quartzville Chief Ernie Renfro told the Pioneer that the BLM ranger was tagging a recreational vehicle and noticed a car was stuck in the sand. The ranger also noticed buzzards circling overhead. The ranger went into the wash and found the body.
“The body had been there for a long time and decomposed,” Renfro said. “The cause of death will be determined at an autopsy.”
According to the news release, the BLM ranger took Quartzville officers to the location, where they established a perimeter. It was determined to be on BLM land, within the department’s jurisdiction.
Quartzsite police contacted the Vancouver Police Department, who notified the man’s sister. The sister told officers the last time she talked to her brother was the last week of July. She told the officers her brother had serious medical conditions.
“This is under investigation until we can determine cause of death,” Renfro said.
Anyone with information about Terry Smith’s activities in the month of July or August, is asked to call Quartzville Officer Keeling at 928-927-4644.
