Multiple cars parked along a rural road in Forest Grove, Ore., on Aug. 23, 2026, during a suspicious death investigation.
Joni Land / OPB
The suspect in the killing of five people at a rural home near Forest Grove has been found dead in Washington state, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday afternoon.
Police in Enumclaw, Wash., a city east of Tacoma, located 36-year-old Benjamin Parker in his vehicle. He appeared to have died by suicide, authorities said.
The announcement came just hours after the Washington County Sheriff’s Office initially announced that they found people killed at a home in a rural part of the county, about 25 miles west of Portland.
On Saturday, at around 5 a.m., the Forest Grove Fire Department responded to a home on Northwest Otis Lane for a reported vehicle fire. Shortly after arriving, fire crews called law enforcement to assist after finding human remains.
Further details about Parker and the crime itself weren’t released. Records show Parker lived in the home on Otis Lane at one point, although it’s unclear if he still lived there at the time of the killings.
Washington County Sheriff’s Detective Shannon Wilde said investigators do not believe the deaths were random, and that they are working to learn the identities of the victims and notify families.
Farmland surrounds the rural area where the bodies were found. The home is not visible from the road. Police still had multiple vehicles parked down the road from the home Sunday.
A Washington County Sheriff's Office vehicle parked on a rural road in Forest Grove, Ore., on Aug. 23, 2026. Deputies are investigating a suspicious death at a home on Northwest Otis Lane.
Joni Land / OPB
Washington County Sheriff Caprice Massey said she recognizes that this incident is deeply concerning to the community.
“In my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex involving this type of an investigation,” the sheriff said.
OPB went to the Portland address of the person listed as the property owner. A detective’s card was at the door, and neighbors said police had been in the area. OPB asked about the property owner during the press conference, but Wilde declined to answer.
The sheriff’s office said it is still an active investigation, and that the Washington County Major Crimes Team is assisting.
“It’s a large scene. It’s a complex investigation, and there are many people involved in this investigation,” Wilde said.
The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information on who lived inside the home to call its non-emergency line at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 50-26-11866.
Correction: A previous version of this post misstated the location of Forest Grove. OPB regrets the error.
