Body discovered in Ka‘u ID’d, autopsy points to homicide

Police have identified a body discovered in late July in a shallow grave in Ka‘u as that of George Edward “Eddie” Dodge, a 36-year-old Mountain View man.

Dodge had been reported missing on July 7, after not being seen or heard from for a couple weeks.

On July 27, Hilo Criminal Investigation Section detectives were alerted to the location of a partially buried body on a remote side road off of Highway 11, south of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park boundary.

The following day, the badly decomposed body was carefully exhumed from the shallow grave and taken to the Hilo Medical Center for official pronouncement of death.

The initial report of autopsy performed on July 29 listed the manner of death as homicide. The exact cause is still under investigation and the final autopsy results are pending.

Due to the condition of Dodge’s body, he had to be identified by means of DNA comparison.

The investigation continues and police ask anyone who may have relevant information relative to this case to contact Detective Jeremy Kubojiri at (808) 961-2378 or Jeremy.Kubojiri@hawaiicounty.gov or to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311,

Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers number at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

See Tuesday’s Tribune-Herald for a more detailed story.