Deckhand says missing man was tossed overboard following bloody fight
TILLAMOOK, Ore. -- A deckhand who joined two Oregon men on a July sailing voyage to Ilwaco, Wash., has told police that a bloody fight aboard the vessel ended with the slaying of John Adkins by his business partner, Erin Rieman, court documents say.
Adkins' body has not been found but Oregon State Police on Tuesday arrested Rieman, 47, of Pacific City, Ore., after he was charged in Pacific County, Wash., with second-degree murder and 1st-degree theft in the disappearance of the 53-year-old Albany man.
RELATED: Click here to read a court document with details on the allegations
Rieman was ordered held on $1 million bail at the Tillamook County Jail following a brief hearing Wednesday in Tillamook County Circuit Court on a fugitive warrant.
His court-appointed attorney, Alexander Hamalian of Portland, said he was representing Rieman only for his extradition to Washington state. Another hearing was scheduled for Monday.
On the July 4 weekend, Adkins boarded his 48-foot fishing boat, the Tiger, with Rieman and deckhand Walter Bremmer, 45, in Garibaldi, and traveled north to Ilwaco. Adkins was last seen July 5 at the Port of Ilwaco. Rieman co-owned the boat and later returned with it to the Garibaldi area.
According to court documents, Bremmer has told police that Adkins' body was tossed into the Pacific Ocean.
