Missing OSU student found dead on Marys Peak

CORVALLIS Ore. (KPTV) - A 22-year-old missing Oregon State University student was found dead on Marys Peak in Benton County on Sunday, the Corvallis Police Department said.

Just before 5 p.m., volunteers helping with the search for Steven Mainwaring found a Ford Bronco the student was believed to be driving in a remote area of Marys Peak near Philomath.

Police found Mainwaring‘s body nearby, they said.

Deputies said there was no evidence of criminal activity or foul play.

Mainwaring had been missing for nearly two weeks. His family said they last heard from him on Dec. 16.

Mainwaring was an engineering student who also served in the Air National Guard.

A week before Christmas, his parents said he told them he would be home in Klamath Falls for the holiday but might take a day trip to the coast or go fishing before. They didn’t hear from him again.

Story from Dec. 29:

“It’s really hard as a mother, just the unknown, the uncertainty,” said Mainwaring’s mother, Bethany Cook on Dec. 29, before he was found. “When Christmas Eve and Christmas went by and he didn’t even send me a text message, I was highly concerned. It’s kind of a surreal place to be.”

The Corvallis Police Department said his phone was pinged on Dec. at a cell tower in Harrisburg, which pinpointed the phone’s location near the town of Alsea.

Cook said that had Mainwaring taken a longer trip into the wilderness, she would have known.

“He’s a great young man and he loves the outdoors, loves to adventure, loves to explore,” Cook said on Dec. 29. “He’s always been very reliable and dependable. As much as he’s a lone wolf and he loves to adventure, if he was going to go on something extended, he’d definitely let us know.”

Mainwaring’s family shared photos of his Ford Bronco that ultimately led to finding his body.

Cook said on Dec. 29 that Mainwaring would be well prepared.

“He has studied survival in the woods quite a bit, he’s had hours in the woods, and with his Air Guard training we are hopeful.”

Additionally, those close to Mainwaring set up a Facebook Page where information on the search was being posted.

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