Law enforcement officials identified the Vancouver man suspected of burning human remains in a car in Clark County as 35-year-old Logan Melchert.
Melchert faces second-degree arson and unlawful disposal of human remains charges after Clark County Sheriff’s deputies went searching for a missing person in unincorporated Hazel Dell, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies were searching for a man who had been missing for weeks at his last known home near Northwest Sluman Road and Overlook Drive. Deputies found a Kia Soul burned by a fire on the property and what appeared to be human remains inside.
The Kia Soul is owned by the estate of Melchert’s dead father, the sheriff’s office said. The county’s medical examiner is still working to determine whether the remains belong to the missing man.
Homicide investigators also are assessing what happened before the car caught fire.
Deputies initially arrested Melchert last Monday on an unrelated warrant for felony assault, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence of intoxicants and criminal mischief, among other charges, court records show.
