Case of two missing San Juan County men turns into homicide investigation, roommate arrested
SAN JUAN COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — The missing persons case of two San Juan County men last heard from two weeks ago has turned into a homicide investigation, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, and the pair’s roommate has been arrested in connection to the investigation.
Charles Youngkuom Yoo, 35, is charged with second-degree felony obstruction of justice in relation to the case. He was arrested Friday following the service of a search warrant on his Blanding home.
The investigation began Feb. 27 when officers responded to Yoo’s residence, located on the 300 East 800 South block of Blanding, Utah. Missing persons Christopher “Topher” Owens, 28, and William “Drew” Bull, 29, were both living with Yoo, the owner of the home, prior to their disappearance.
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A friend of Owens and Bull had gone to the home earlier to speak with Bull about business, according to a statement of probable cause, but neither Bull nor Owens were at the residence. The friend instead spoke with Yoo, reportedly the only person at the home at the time, informing Yoo that they had not heard from Bull, and that Bull’s significant other hadn’t heard from him either.
The friend had not been in contact with Bull since Feb. 25, when Bull and Owens were driving back from Moab. Shortly after the interaction, Bull’s significant other reportedly received a text from Bull’s phone stating, “its always something with everyone i cant deal with this b******* from you kaitlyn texas colorado f*** it all you dont listen kids dont listen f*** u f**** everyone tell toph im sorry if hes alive your all ob your own,” according to the affidavit.
This friend told the sheriff’s office that the text seemed suspicious for several reasons. One — the text was reportedly sent shortly after their interaction with Yoo. Two — one of the reasons listed in the text is Bull’s ex-wife, but her name is spelled incorrectly. And three — the text mentioned Bull’s friend Owens, “Toph,” possibly not being alive, and no one had heard from Owens either since Bull’s disappearance.
Additionally, detectives later learned that Bull had not been in contact with his ex-wife for around three years.
The friend also claimed no one had heard from Bull or Owens since Feb. 25 until that text message was received. This friend became even more concerned after Yoo, who owned a large collection of guns, claimed one of his guns was missing. They reportedly told Yoo to report the missing gun to police, but Yoo allegedly said he wanted to speak to an attorney before making a report.
Officers learned that Bull and Owens had, in fact, returned from a trip to Moab and were seen at a Maverik gas station in Blanding around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 25. Police reportedly obtained video surveillance confirming they were there.
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Yoo allegedly told police that he saw Bull and Owens around mid-morning on Feb. 26, and that the two had left the home in a black Dodge. However, Yoo did not provide any more information as to whether the Dodge was a truck, car, or SUV, or “anything else that would have been apparent to someone with basic knowledge of a vehicle,” the affidavit states.
Yoo is a vehicle mechanic and has substantial knowledge about vehicles, police said, making officers even more suspicious about Yoo’s statement.
Yoo also told police that Bull and Owens would have had access to his gun that was missing “because it was just sitting out,” and that the two had not returned home since he claimed to have last seen them on Feb. 26.
Officers conducted a “video canvas” of the area and did not find any black Dodge coming or going from the area on Feb. 26 during mid-morning, according to the affidavit.
Bull’s significant other told police she and Bull shared their location data with each other, but that on the evening of Feb. 25, the day Bull had returned from Moab, Bull’s location data stopped sharing. It was during this same period that Owens, an active social media user, stopped posting on social media.
When Owens’ friends tried to reach him, they were sent straight to voicemail. When Bull’s significant other called Bull repeatedly, Bull did not answer. Police also said they checked both Bull’s and Owens’ bank statements, and that there had not been any activity since Feb. 25.
Police conducted an “emergency ping” on Bull’s and Owens’ phones, and while no location data came back for Owens’ phone, Bull’s phone showed a location in an area around 700 yards from Yoo’s residence. Police checked the area, but did not find Bull nor a cellphone.
On Feb. 27, Yoo and the friend went to pick up Bull’s significant other, who had reportedly recently had a baby. Upon returning to Yoo’s residence, Yoo, who has a military background, allegedly wanted to tactically clear the home for any possible threats. Yoo allegedly instructed the friend during the sweep of the home, and when the friend found a door that was locked from the inside, Yoo told them that he had not checked that room, and the friend repeatedly tried to gain entry, according to the affidavit.
However, Yoo allegedly then claimed that he had cleared the room, and that there was no reason to enter.
Yoo, Bull, and Bull’s significant other reportedly all shared their locations together due to their “good friendship,” the affidavit states. Police said Yoo told Bull’s significant other that he would be leaving town on March 1, and during this time, turned his location data off. However, when Yoo returned, he turned his location data back on, according to the affidavit.
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Police said they were able to get the location data of several locations Yoo had visited, and upon questioning Yoo, Yoo did not provide the correct information regarding where officers already knew he had traveled.
Police also obtained information on Bull’s and Owen’s phones and found that both phones arrived to the Blanding residence on Feb. 25, but that neither phones left the area and are last seen after midnight on Feb. 26 “when it appears both were powered off,” the affidavit states.
The phones were turned back on Feb. 27 when the text to Bull’s significant other was sent and then both were once again powered off, police said.
Cellphone data shows that the text was sent from the immediate area of Yoo’s residence.
On March 8, detectives conducted an interview with Yoo. When asked questions about the text message, Yoo reportedly nodded his head in the affirmative, indicating that he knew the text was sent from his residence, and that he knew how it was sent.
“Charles was found to be the only person at the residence on 02/27/2024 when the text message was sent. Charles also provided confirmation the text was sent from the residence, and he knew how it was sent. [Bull] and [Owens] have no proof of life since 02/25/2024, with the exception of the text message sent from [Bull’s] phone when [Yoo] claimed no one else was home,” the affidavit states.
Due to evidence collected at the home, interviews with Yoo, investigative techniques and the lack of proof of life from Bull and Owens, the investigation is now considered a homicide investigation.
This case is ongoing at this time.
Anyone with information regarding this case, or who has seen anything suspicious that could be related to this investigation, is asked to call the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office at 435-587-2237.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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