At approximately 10:20 a.m. on May 19, officers from the Indiana State Police, the Miami County Sheriff’s Department, and conservation officers from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources responded to a possible death, on the Okie Pinokie Trail, near the area of State Road 124 and Miami County Road 510 East.
The preliminary investigation by Indiana State Police detectives revealed that two men were mushroom hunting, in a wooded area on the Okie Pinokie Trail, near State Road 124 and Miami County Road 510 East. The men allegedly found the body of a deceased male. The deceased male was identified as Drake Allan Smith, 22, Summitville, IN.
An autopsy revealed that Smith’s death was a homicide.
During the course of the investigation, detectives developed enough probable cause to be granted arrest warrants for Ethan D. Cain, 21, Marion, IN, and Joshua C. Kean, 23, Lafontaine, IN. Cain faces criminal charges for murder, obstruction of justice, and theft. Kean faces charges for assisting a criminal, obstruction of justice, and theft.
At approximately 4 a.m. Monday, Ethan Cain was arrested by officers from the Imperial County California Sheriff’s Department. He was taken into custody after the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team raided a campground to arrest Cain and Kean on the warrants from Indiana. Cain was taken into custody but Kean was not captured. Earlier, the pair had been seen together when they had contact with an Imperial County Sheriff’s Deputy. They were not taken into custody at that time because the officer received a delayed response revealing the warrants for their arrests.
Cain is incarcerated in the Imperial County Jail awaiting extradition proceedings.
The Indiana State Police is seeking the public’s help in locating Joshua Kean:
Kean is a white male, six foot tall, and weighs approximately 250 pounds. He has blonde hair and blue eyes.
Kean should be considered armed and dangerous. If he is sited do not approach him, call law enforcement and report his location.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Indiana State Police detectives by calling the Indiana State Police Peru Post at 1-800-382-0689 or 765-473-6666.
No further information will be released at this time.