Christopher Ryan Smith

California police are searching for the body of a former Bend resident, having arrested his business partner Sunday in connection with the disappearance and apparent slaying.

Christopher Ryan Smith, 32, lived in Bend for a year, working in construction and developing a software program, according to his father, Steven Smith.

An Orange County District Attorney’s Office press release stated that 33-year-old Edward Younghoon Shin was arrested Sunday and charged Monday with Smith’s murder.

The Orange County DA’s office reports that Shin co-owned an advertising business, 800xchange, with Smith. A California sheriff’s official said Shin confessed to murdering Smith on June 4, 2010, in their San Juan Capistrano office in an effort to take over full ownership of the business.

After the slaying, Shin allegedly forged Smith’s signature on documents to show Smith had signed the business over to him.

Sgt. Andre Spencer of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Laguna Beach Police detectives and Sheriff’s Office crime lab technicians went through the offices of 800xchange looking for clues in Smith’s disappearance.

“We found blood evidence that was later analyzed and came back to the missing Chris Smith,” Spencer said.

Spencer’s office executed search warrants on Shin’s phone records and computers to gather e-mail correspondence to and from Smith between June and December 2010.

Admitted to e-mailing family

Shin also allegedly impersonated Smith by sending e-mails to Smith’s family and friends over several months, telling them he was on an extended trip to Africa and providing them with updates on his travels. When those e-mails stopped in December, the family contacted U.S. authorities, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Once (Shin) was interviewed he made some statements admitting to making those e-mails,” Spencer said. “It was not Mr. Smith, because he was deceased. (Shin) admitted he sent those e-mails out to pretend like Mr. Smith was still alive.”

The Orange County DA’s office reports Smith’s family filed a missing persons report in April with the Laguna Beach Police Department. The investigation was turned over to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which after an 11-day surveillance arrested Shin at Los Angeles International Airport, where he’d boarded a flight to Canada. Spencer said after his arrest, Shin admitted to killing Smith.

On Monday, a second man was arrested in connection with the alleged murder. Kenny Roy Kraft, 34, admitted to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office that he helped Shin dispose of Smith’s clothing and 2009 white Range Rover, which was recovered this week by investigators in San Jose.

Search continues for body

Smith’s body has not yet been recovered.

Smith’s parents, Steven and Debi Smith, have lived in Bend for 11 years. Debi Smith owns and operates Cobblestones Children’s Center, and Steven Smith is a retired San Jose, Calif., firefighter.

Steven Smith would not comment on his son’s disappearance, saying the investigation remains active.

“We’re trying to find some remains,” he said. “They told us they’ve got 10 detectives dedicated to this. We’re trying to make sure we get his remains. There may be other people (involved).”

Shin is charged with one felony count of special circumstances murder for financial gain and faces the possibility of a life sentence in California state prison with no parole.

“Our main concern is for the family. We want to find the body of Chris Smith, for closure,” Spencer said.