Small Town News

Missing man's body found in Mason County

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The body recovered from a yard in Mason County last week could be that of a missing 89-year-old Kitsap County man.

Throughout the morning on Dec. 30, Mason County Sheriff's Office deputies assisted the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office at a property in Belfair where a body had been located.

The remains of an elderly person were recovered around 11:30 a.m. by Kitsap County investigators in the backyard of a residence in a neighborhood off state Route 300 near Belfair.

A Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office press release said investigators believe the man to be Robert Archie Hood, who was last seen by a caretaker Dec. 16.

At the North Mason location, investigators found a large container located in the backyard of the property. After obtaining a search warrant, the body was discovered inside.

The man investigators believe placed Hood into the container remained at-large until Jan. 1.

The man, Arnold Mafnass Cruz, 47, of South Kitsap County, was arrested after he entered a business on Bethel Road and told an employee to call 911. Cruz is charged with rendering criminal assistance, a first-degree felony.

Investigators believe Hood was the victim of a violent robbery at his home, which led to his disappearance.

For more than a week, officials worked around the clock to locate the missing man.

Throughout their investigation, the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office had arrested and charged five other individuals believed to be related to Hood's disappearance.

On Dec. 22, Robert Lee Pry, 29, Bremerton, was arrested and charged with homicide, a first-degree felony and robbery, a first-degree felony. His bail is set at $1.1 million. Additionally, Ocean Aaron Wilson, 19, of Federal Way, was arrested and charged with rendering criminal assistance, a first-degree felony. Her bail was set at $10,000.

Alisha Gail Small, 33, of Bremerton, was arrested on Dec. 23 and charged with possessing stolen property, a second-degree felony. She is being held on $5,000 bond.

On Dec. 24, police arrested two more individuals in Thurston County related to the robbery.

Joshua Owen Rodgers Jones, 26, and Miranda Elizabeth Bond, 25, were arrested and transported to the Kitsap County jail.

Jones was charged with robbery, a first-degree felony and is being held on $1 million bail. Bond was arrested on a probable cause charge for suspicion of rendering criminal assistance, a first-degree felony.



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