Police arrest business partner of missing Ore. man

A 47-year-old Pacific City man has been arrested in the July disappearance of a friend and business partner last seen in the southwest Washington Port of Ilwaco, Oregon State Police said Tuesday night.

Erin Rieman was arrested earlier Tuesday at his home on a Pacific County, Wash., warrant accusing him of second-degree murder and first-degree theft in the disappearance of John Curtis Adkins of Albany, Ore., Lt. Gregg Hastings said.

On the July 4 weekend, Adkins boarded his 48-foot fishing boat, the Tiger, with Rieman and another friend in Garibaldi, Ore., and traveled north to Ilwaco. Adkins was last seen July 5 at the Port of Ilwaco.

Rieman co-owned the boat and later returned with it to the Garibaldi area. Rieman was taken Tuesday to the Tillamook County Jail pending an initial appearance in Tillamook County Circuit Court. It was not immediately known whether he was represented by a lawyer.

The 53-year-old Adkins was reported missing on July 7. His body has not been found, state police said.

Hastings said Adkins' relatives have been notified of the arrest. State police did not provide any additional details.

In mid-July, Police Chief Flint Wright of the Long Beach, Wash., department said Adkins was reported to be alone when he left a tavern down the street from the port at about 1 a.m. on July 5.