New leads sought; missing 22-year-old presumed dead
Schertz police are still searching for answers — despite having a suspect in custody — in the disappearance and presumed death of a 22year-old man after new leads have “dried up,” officials said.
On March 7, Jacob Dubois told his girlfriend that he was going to hang out with 21-year-old Ethan Beckman and drive around like they normally do. But two days later, Dubois hadn't returned home and wasn't answering his phone, prompting his girlfriend to call police and report him as missing.
Since then, Schertz police have arrested Beckman on suspicion of tampering with evidence related to Dubois' disappearance, and they consider him a homicide suspect. But they have been unable to gather enough information to close the case.
When Schertz investigators questioned Beckman on March 10, he initially said that he had dropped off Dubois at a construction site near his house in the area of Homestead Parkway and Somervell because Dubois said he was going to walk home from there.
Investigators believe that on the day after Dubois' disappearance, Beckman drove north to U.S. 281 and Johnson Way, where he parked his gray 2019 Volkswagen GTI and used several ride-hailing vehicles to make multiple trips to Walmart.
Schertz Detective Helen
Lafitte said Beckman bought several items that could be used to dispose of a body.
Lafitte noted that Beckman was involved a hit-andrun crash March 8, before visiting Walmart, that resulted in considerable damage to his vehicle. And on March 9, Bexar County deputies contacted Beckman after his damaged vehicle became disabled near U.S. 281 and Borgfeld Road on the far North Side.
Footage from a deputy's body camera showed lighter fluid and paper towels in the vehicle and that Beckman's clothes were stained with bleach — one of the items that he bought at Walmart, according to police.
The Volkswagen was towed to his mother's workplace.
Police said that when investigators initially spoke to Beckman about Dubois' disappearance, before they knew the scope of the situation, Beckman gave conflicting stories about where the two had been and where he dropped off Dubois.
By the time investigators examined the vehicle on March 11, the inside of the Volkswagen had been saturated and cleaned with a power washer to the point that the floorboards were soaked, Lafitte said. Nevertheless, investigators found blood on the passenger seat and other evidence.
The evidence in Beckman's car indicated foul play, and the missing persons case became a murder investigation, Lafitte said.
Beckman was arrested March 29 on a charge of tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. He remains in the Guadalupe County Jail on $1 million bail.
Since then, Beckman has refused to speak with police, Lafitte said.
Beckman's mother was also arrested, accused of hindering the investigation and hiding Beckman.
Police have not determined a motive for the possible killing and said the two were childhood friends.