Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

MORTON – A grass field at a Morton park drew more than 200  people last night, both individuals who knew and those who never knew 16-year-old Austin King.

The gathering came three days after the body of a young adult male was discovered off a logging road 10 miles away from the missing Morton boy’s home.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office has not said the body is that of the teenager; it hasn’t been identified yet.

Hundreds of candles were lit and a handful of folks spoke before a prayer was recited.

“When I heard, I cried,” said one man who said he didn’t know Austin. “It could have been my boy.”

“We want to thank you from the bottom of our heart for bringing home our baby,” said another adult.

Another called whoever did this “monsters.”

Eloise Pugh from Glenoma whispered how unfortunate it was she didn’t see elected officials from Morton or members of the sheriff’s office present.

“It feels like they don’t care,” Pugh said quietly. “These people know their children, they know their child.”

Morton resident Jennifer Mau and women she called her “core” team coordinated blue ribbons for lapels, a jug to collect funds for funeral expenses, and balloons.

The 30-year-old is the local chapter founder of a Texas-based motorcycle group called Guardians of the Children. Their mission is to help protect abused kids, but Mau has become active in assisting and now in setting up searches for runaway children.

She organized the search effort for Austin that began not long after he vanished sometime between June 23 and 24. The teenager was labeled by the sheriff’s office as a runaway, and two or three weeks later re-classified as endangered-missing.

What happened remains a mystery.

The sheriff’s office in talking Wednesday about the unidentified body said there was no initial obvious indication of an accident or suicide and none of foul play “at this time.” But it’s not clear what they had to work from.

After an autopsy was conducted on Thursday, the remains were taken to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Seattle, for additional examination by a forensic anthropologist.

Yesterday, the sheriff’s office released a statement that a high priority is being given to determining the identity, but DNA testing is necessary for that.

“It’s not expected to be completed for at least another week,” the statement read.

Austin’s mother, 35-year-old Christy Harper kept a low profile at Gust Backstrom Park last night. His father Shaun King lives in Chehalis and he has numerous brothers and sisters, according to family members.

One cousin from Randle and another from Onalaska were among the many relatives who were part of the convergence at the park.

“He’s 16 years old, it shouldn’t have happened,” said A.J. Spears a cousin who was at the teenager’s home in the Tilton River Mobile Home Park when his family realized he was gone.

Like others, he’s heard lots of stories, but doesn’t know anything for sure, Spears said.

“It’s crazy, I’ve never heard of it in this area,” he said. “And I’ve lived here all my life.”

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To read “Vigil for Morton teen still on; body found yesterday not identified” – click here – from Wednesday July 21, 2010 at 12:06 p.m.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

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