(InEDC) BY Clearwater Trib 08/9/23 7:47 PM PST
Deputies with the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a deceased person found in the Clearwater River, near Gibbs Eddy off of Highway 12, on May 28. At the time, the identity of the individual was unknown, and the public was asked to help identify the man.
The sheriff’s office reported on Thursday, Aug. 3, that the man has been identified as Damien P. Kucich, 38, of South Lake Tahoe, CA.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be from drowning. The sheriff’s office says detectives have interviewed multiple people over the last two months in the case, and have been able to identify the last known subjects to be with Kucich before his death. They are 29-year-old Ryan Nicholas of Ahsahka, and 33-year-old Rebekah Ramos of Truckee, CA. They have been interviewed by detectives and were both booked into the Nez Perce County Jail this week on grand theft charges. According to the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office, at this time there is no information available that says Nicholas or Ramos are responsible for Kucich’s death.
Kucich is believed to have exited a white 2014 Lexus SUV, registered to Ramos, near Deano’s Gas Station on Highway 12 in Orofino sometime after midnight on May 27. He was last seen wearing khaki shorts and lime green shoes in the area of Deano’s, near the bank of the Clearwater River.
Anyone with information about Kucich’s death is asked to contact Detective Wendy King at 208-799-2121, ext 1.
