The cremated remains of Justin Burkhart, who went missing in Bend a decade ago, will stay with his father following the sudden death last month of the previous keeper of those ashes, Burkhart’s mother, Eloisa Chavez.

Relatives of Chavez told The Bulletin they won’t fight a court order and will abandon a plan to combine the ashes of mother and son and spread them — a condition, they say, Chavez wrote clearly in her will.

Justin’s father, Randy Burkhart, cited his Catholic religious convictions in his filing in Deschutes County Circuit Court opposing their plan.

He also says he paid for his son’s cremation — one of several points still disputed by the family.

After Chavez died, her sister and nephew said they arrived at her house from out of state to find a summons posted on her front door and an ultimatum to hand over the ashes, and only a few days to act.

They felt taking on Randy Burkhart would be too costly and difficult at a sensitive time and turned over the ashes, said Justin Burkhart’s cousin Jason Gonzales, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“(Justin and Eloisa) are both gone now. We are grieving and have been in a vulnerable position during all of this. None of this was expected and we are doing our very best,” Gonzales said.

Nearly a decade ago, the Bend area was gripped by the disappearance of Justin Burkhart, a young wine steward and Central Oregon Community College student who went missing after a night on the town with friends. Ten months later, following an intense search, his drowned body was pulled from the Deschutes River.

Throughout the search, his mother was his most visible champion, leading search efforts and speaking often with the media. She even hired a private investigator after growing frustrated with the official search.

Last month, she was found dead in her home in Bend.

Randy Burkhart’s attorney, Michael Dockery, told a judge this month her death was assumed to be a suicide.

Her family says the cause was a heart attack.

Chavez’s sister, Eileen Murray, said Randy Burkhart’s court filing is full of untruths, including basic information, such as Justin’s date of birth, which she says is incorrect on the document.

Randy Burkhart argues he paid for Justin’s cremation and subsequently delivered his ashes to Chavez at Justin’s memorial service, where he “entrusted” her with the remains. He says there was no agreement about their final resting place.

“Those folks on the adverse side seemed to be pleasant and nice, and my client certainly feels that way,” Dockery said. “This was simply a matter of his strong religious convictions with regard to the final disposition and treatment of his son’s remains.”

Gonzales disputes that Randy Burkhart paid for his son’s cremation. The cost was covered by the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office’s Victim’s Compensation Fund. Gonzales said his family offered Randy Burkhart half of Justin’s ashes, but he refused through his attorney.

He pointed out Chavez was raised Catholic herself.

“We’d have been happy to give him half,” Gonzales said. “I knew Justin; I don’t think he’d want all of his remains to go in Randy’s casket to spend all eternity. It’s not our fault, or our problem, that Randy has these selfish and unreasonable religious convictions.”

Murray said it hurt to read about this personal family matter in The Bulletin.

“The city of Bend probably has it in its head now that we’re an awful family,” she said. “But we’re not. We’re a very close family. We’re a very loving family.”

Chavez and her three sisters grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She left home early, living for a time in Nevada before settling in Oregon.

“She was always a go-getter,” Gonzales said.

Chavez never married Randy Burkhart, whom she split with shortly after Justin’s birth.

Justin Burkhart was Chavez’s only child. Growing up, he always lived with his mother, though he had regular contact with his dad all his life, according to Gonzales.

Chavez was extremely close with her son, according to her relatives, and was devastated by his disappearance and the eventual news of his death in August 2009.

“It was horrible for her,” said Murray, of Albuquerque.

In the intervening years, she didn’t go a day without searching for answers.

Gonzales and Murray said Chavez’s family has always believed Justin Burkhart was probably murdered. Suicide, they say, is out of the question, given Burkhart’s personality and how far he’d come in life. And they don’t accept that his death could have been accidental.

“That’s what I believe,” Murray said. “These are my thoughts.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com