Police say the body of Evian DiStefano, 20, was found in the woods east of Portland

Detectives in Multnomah County are investigating the death of an Ashland High School graduate whose body was found on a forest road east of Portland this week.

A passerby from Portland spotted the body of Evian DiStefano, 20, shortly after midnight Thursday on an access road through Mount Hood National Forest to the Columbia Gorge, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Shults said.

The passerby notified neighbors on East Larch Mountain Road in Corbett, who called police, Shults said.

Deputies retrieved the body from a steep, wooded area near a turnaround at a snow gate that closes the scenic road during the winter. Detectives from the East Multnomah Major Crime Task Force have collected evidence at the scene, but are releasing few details, Shults said.

Investigators believe DiStefano didn’t die where his body was found and his body had been left there recently.

Advertisement

An autopsy conducted Thursday found no clear cause of death and investigators are awaiting toxicology reports, which can take weeks.

"We want to know how did he die and how did he get there," Shults said. "Any number of things could have happened."

DiStefano’s friends had reported him missing to Portland police April 11, Shults said. DiStefano had been missing about a day when the report was made.

Authorities found his car in southeast Portland. No vehicle was found in the forest where his body was discovered, Shults said. DiStefano lived in northeast Portland.

Ashland High School Principal Jeff Schlect remembered DiStefano, who graduated in 2003.

"Evian was a very intelligent, highly motivated young man," Schlect said Friday. "He was an absolute delight to be around."

Schlect recalled that DiStefano wanted to become a politician, was active in environmental issues and generally passionate about helping American society.

Then-Mayor Alan DeBoer appointed DiStefano to the Ashland Housing Committee as a high school representative during his senior year.

The area where his body was found has been the site of crimes in the past, according to media reports. Two men were gunned down by target-shooting teens at a nearby gravel pit in 1996, and a murdered man and woman were found on the slopes of Larch Mountain in 1999.

Multnomah County detectives would like to hear from anyone with information in this case. The 24-hour tip line is (503) 618-2719.

Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail aburke@mailtribune.com. The Ashland Daily Tidings staff contributed to this report.