Couple wanted for allegedly torturing son to death found in Mexico with missing kids

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Wash. (TCD) -- Two of the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted Fugitives were captured in Mexico last week, along with five missing children.

According to a statement from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the U.S. Marshals announced Friday, March 31, that they arrested 34-year-old Edgar Salvador Casian-Garcia and his 38-year-old girlfriend, Araceli Medina, who were wanted out of Franklin County, Washington.

The U.S. Marshals added Casian-Garcia and Medina to the 15 Most Wanted list in February, saying they have been charged with aggravated murder, four counts of rape of a child, and three counts of assault on a child.

In May 2021, Pasco Police began investigating the disappearance of Casian-Garcia’s son, Edgar Casian, though he had not been "credibly accounted for" since September 2020. On Feb. 5, 2022, hikers in Benton County, Washington, found human remains, and several law enforcement agencies began investigating. The remains were later identified as Edgar’s, and in April 2022, a nationwide warrant for first-degree went out for Casian-Garcia and Medina’s arrests.

He had been tortured to death. Pasco Police Detective Jon Davis said Edgar’s death was "the worst case I’ve come across in nine years as a detective."

Several weeks after Pasco Police started looking into Edgar’s disappearance, two of Edgar’s siblings, ages 3 and 8, were found in Tijuana "under alarmingly dangerous conditions." The NCMEC reports the two young girls "showed signs of severe physical and sexual abuse."

The older child told police she and her sister had "been subjected to unimaginable torture and that she’d been raped while living in Washington."

The U.S. Marshals allege Casian-Garcia was most likely sex trafficking the children, including Edgar.

According to the U.S. Marshals, their five children who were also missing and endangered were rescued and taken into protective custody of the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families.

The U.S. Marshals said those on the 15 Most Wanted list "tend to be career criminals with histories of violence who pose a significant threat to public safety," and are "considered the 'worst of the worst.'"

Casian-Garcia and Medina remain in Mexico pending extradition.

MORE:

• Couple captured, 5 children rescued! - National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• Eastern Washington Fugitive Couple on U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted Arrested in Mexico - U.S. Marshals
• Human remains found in rural area identified as missing 8-year-old; dad and girlfriend wanted, 4/14/2022 - TCD
• U.S. Marshals Elevate Fugitive Couple to 15 Most Wanted Status, Offer Up To $25,000 Each for Information Leading to Arrest, 2/15/2023 - U.S. Marshals
• Wanted Homicide Suspects, 4/13/2022 - Pasco Police Department
• Have You Seen Edgar Casian, 6/7/2021 - Pasco Police Department