The Corvallis man and a former Oregon State University student, Steven Mainwaring, 22, was found deceased by the deputies of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday at 4:54 p.m. at Mary’s Peak.

According to the Corvallis Police Department Facebook page, volunteers who had been searching for Mainwaring found his Ford Bronco and reported it to the Sheriff’s office. The officials found Mainwaring deceased near his car and an investigation completed by the Sheriff’s Office found no evidence of criminal activity or indications of foul play. 

Mainwaring was reported to be missing by the CPD on Dec. 21. 

According to Jennesa Jukes, the aunt of Mainwaring, he was first enrolled at OSU in Fall 2021 and was pursuing mechanical engineering. He was also a part of the local Engineers without Borders chapter.

Mainwaring was also an Air Guardsman at the Oregon Air National Guard at the Kingsley Field base, Klamath Falls and was an avid outdoors person who enjoyed wilderness.

Until Dec. 29, the last known location of Mainwaring according to the cell phone tower data obtained by the CPD was a wooded area in the south of Alsea, Oregon. However, all searches by the CPD as well as community volunteers around Alsea region failed to find Mainwaring.

According to a post on the public facebook page “Help Us Find Mainwaring,” search by the volunteers near the Alsea region was suspended today after extensive search and a message was passed on to the neighboring counties.

More details about the investigation would be disseminated through the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at a later date.