Charlie McBride has been missing for one month. His family and friends want answers. - East Idaho News
Idaho

Charlie McBride has been missing for one month. His family and friends want answers.

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UPDATE: Charlie McBride has been found dead. Read more here.

CHALLIS — It’s been one month since Charles “Charlie” McBride disappeared, and his family members and friends are searching for answers.

McBride was last seen on Feb. 25 at his home in Challis. He was supposed to work for a man named Ben Savage, who owns an excavation company.

Bradon Kominek tells EastIdahoNews.com he saw McBride before work on the day he vanished.

“He called Ben Savage, and Ben told him he is outside,” Kominek recalls. “I walked him out to his truck, and Charlie said, ‘I love you, bro. I will see you after work.’ So I was waiting for him, and he never showed up. I was curious, so I called the police department in Challis, and I asked if they have Charlie McBride, and they said no.”

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Charles McBride | Courtesy photo

Rumors have circulated on social media that Savage may have been involved in McBride’s disappearance. In a Facebook post, McBride’s girlfriend, Samantha Mariah, wrote that Savage had threatened her boyfriend.

“He went to work and has never come home. The man he went to work with has made death threats about him and joked around about hurting him. Please let me know. I’m worried sick,” Mariah wrote.

EastIdahoNews.com spoke briefly with Savage on Monday morning, and when asked if he had anything to do with McBride’s disappearance he said, “No, I did not.”

Savage says McBride was on drugs when he picked him up for work but did not want to answer any other questions.

“He was high on meth. That’s all I can tell you right now. I’m working with the police right now. It’ll come out soon,” Savage said.

In a March 7 Facebook post, Custer County Sheriff Stuart “Stu” Lumpkin says Savage has “cooperated 100 percent.”

“On March 7, 2019, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. … the Custer County Sheriff’s Office was at the property where Ben Savage works. The area was checked for any fresh fire pits and fresh dug holes, there was no evidence of any fresh dug holes or any fire pits found on the property. All buildings were checked, and Charlie was not found in the Morgan Creek area. … Everyone is posting things on Facebook but yet no has come into the Sheriff’s Office or even called with any information. Ben Savage has cooperated 100 percent in this investigation.”



EastIdahoNews.com contacted Lumpkin on Monday for additional information, but our requests for comment have not been returned.

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Idaho State Police has issued a missing persons flyer for McBride and noted that he might have traveled to the Buhl area, which is about two hours from Challis. The flyer also states that McBride uses a rescue inhaler.

Debbie Burton, McBride’s mother, says she is hoping for answers soon and asks anyone with information to contact authorities.

McBride is described as a white male who is 6’1” tall, with blond hair and weighs 200 pounds. He has tattoos on both of his arms, his left hand, his leg, his right calf, and his right shoulder. If you have any information on his whereabouts, call the Custer County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 879-2232.

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