MONTICELLO, Utah, March 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — San Juan County officials say two Blanding men missing since late February have been confirmed as deceased and their bodies have been recovered.
William Drew Bull, 29, and Christopher “Topher” Owens, 28, were last heard from Feb. 25, and their landlord and roommate, Charles Youngkuom Yoo, 35, since has been charged with aggravated murder and obstruction of justice in connection with their deaths.
The bodies of Bull and Owens have been taken to the state Office of the Medical Examiner, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
“The investigation is active and ongoing with numerous allied agencies involved,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Friends of Bull and Owens said they last heard from the men on social media and via text Feb. 25.
Yoo told deputies he last saw the men driving away from their shared Blanding residence Feb. 26, but he could not provide details about their destination or the vehicle, according to investigators.
A close friend of Bull and Owens said he’d received a text message from Bull on Feb. 27, which he shared with law enforcement because he found it suspicious. In the message, Bull expressed frustrations with his ex-wife, but he had not talked with the woman in three years, according to investigators.
They also determined the text locators indicated it had been sent from the vicinity of the Blanding home of the three men.
Yoo later admitted he was the only person at the residence on Feb. 27, and in baffling behavior nodded affirmatively when asked if he knew the text had been sent from that vicinity that day and how it was sent, charging documents say.
Other odd behavior reported about Yoo since the two men went missing included his refusal to let friends look into a locked room in the garage of the Blanding residence, according to court documents.
On another occasion as he and others returned to the residence, Yoo, a former military officer, insisted on first clearing the residence tactically of any possible threats.
Yoo was arrested March 10, and the sheriff’s office announced the men’s disappearance had become a homicide investigation.
