Published Aug 3, 2020
Q6 Cold Case: Remains of the ‘Missing Wedding Guest’ found in Stevens County
The remains of a Springdale man missing since November of 2016 have been found according to family members. Investigators say Paul Brazeau was shot to death. No one has been arrested in relation to the case.
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Paul’s sons Luke and Kieran say the last time they saw their father was one of the best days of their lives. The entire family was together to watch Luke marry the love of his life.
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They all knew November 10th, 2016 would be one of those memories they would always think back on and just smile, but they had no idea how precious that time really was.
“To be able to have gotten that day with him...I'm just glad he was there for that,” Luke said.
Paul Brazeau had special lady on his arm to celebrate that evening, his mother Donna. She told KHQ back in 2018 that Paul was living with her in Springdale at the time of his disappearance. She said they dropped off another relative after the reception and headed home. She said he was on the phone and told her ‘so and so is coming to pick me up.’ She never thought to ask who ‘so and so’ was. Her left the house and she never saw her son again.
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The call that confirmed their fears came in Fall of 2019. Kieran says a detective called him to say Paul’s remains had been found in a wooded area on some Stevens County property. To protect the integrity of the investigation, they would like us to leave it at that. They say the remains were sent off to be analyzed by an expert on the west side of Washington. Kieran and Luke say they were told by deputies that their father had been shot to death.
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Luke and Kieran say they immediately wanted to contact KHQ to get the word out and hopefully spark new interest and leads in this cold case. Paul’s sons say investigators urged them to keep the development quiet.
“I wanted to (to call media right away) but we were told not to…by the Stevens County Sheriff's Office,” Kieran said. “I asked them to do a press release many times. They discouraged it.”
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But there is one lead Kieran and Luke know they can’t pursue on their own. Phone records. They believe whoever their father was speaking to on the phone that night likely has critical information. Their aunt also pushed for a deeper dive into that in our previous coverage.
“My aunt mentions to you
in your (2018) podcast that we have encouraged them many times to go after phone records...my dad made many calls that night,” Kieran said. “They still haven't gone after these records.”
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And Erdman says that does include looking into those phone calls Paul made. He said because Paul used a landline and not a cell phone and the calls were not long distance, it’s another dead end. Erdman claims detectives attempted to trace that activity but could not.
Q6 Cold Case: Remains of the ‘Missing Wedding Guest’ found in Stevens County