Two people were found dead in a vehicle on Highway 26 outside of Banks early Wednesday morning, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies first responded to a vehicle parked alongside westbound Highway 26 near Mountaindale Rd. around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. Inside a 2012 black Nissan Altima were two bodies.
An investigation by detectives with the county’s Violent Crimes Unit and the Forensic Science Unit led the sheriff’s office to believe that a murder-suicide.
“The investigation appears to show Alejandro Gomez-Blanco, age 46 of Beaverton, shot and killed his wife, Yolanda Constantino, age 44 of Beaverton, before turning the gun on himself,” the county said in a press release issued Wednesday afternoon.
A gun was found in the vehicle.
The investigation continues, and family members of the deceased were notified.
The highway was closed for more than six hours.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.