By Debbie Bryce for the Journal
POCATELLO – Bannock County Coroner Kim Quick said last week that 36-year-old Brandon James Lenker died as the result of penetrating head trauma, Thursday Quick confirmed that the trauma was caused by a bullet, Lenker was shot in the head.
Lenker’s body was found on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in northern Bannock County on May 26. He was a suspect in the theft of a Toyota SUV, which was stolen on April 27.
The vehicle was later found partially submerged in the Portneuf River on May 5. At the time, police said Lenker was missing under suspicious circumstances, and they asked for the public’s help in locating him.
Quick said Lenker died about the time he was reported missing.
Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog said the case remains under investigation. Detectives have interviewed several people in connection to Lenker’s disappearance and death, which Herzog is calling a probable homicide.
Persons of interest have been identified, but no one has been charged in connection to the death.
The prosecutor said he is waiting for pathology reports in the case.