Palouse: Missing teen found dead under bridge

The body of 16-year-old Dylan Mahan-Treese was found under a bridge in Palouse last Saturday, Oct. 23, 13 days after he is presumed to have died.

Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann said the father of the 16-year-old had reported him as a runaway Oct. 11. That is believed to be the day the he died.

Mahan-Treese was found under the end of the Church Street bridge over the former Great Northern railroad approach into Palouse.

Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin is awaiting results of a toxicology test that will rule out or confirm an accidental overdose or possible suicide. Coroner Martin suggested the death was most likely from an overdose, but could not say for certain until the toxicology report came back.

Neumann reported the youth had a history of suicide attempts and police found an empty bottle of medication on his person. No foul play is suspected.

All three Palouse police officers responded to the scene about noon Saturday after an anonymous caller to the Quad Cities Drug Tack Force advised them there was a body under the bridge.