Update | Boyfriend of Tri-Cities mom who was found in Columbia River is jailed in Portland

The 34-year-old boyfriend of a Tri-Cities woman found dead in the Columbia River is being held in a Portland, Ore., jail on a fugitive from justice warrant.

Richard Michael Jacobson was arrested less than three days after Brandy Ebanez’s body was found in the water by a fisherman on Sept. 27.

She’d been wrapped in plastic bags and dumped in the water many days before she was found, say investigators.

Shortly before 1 a.m. on Sept. 30, Jacobson was booked into the Multonomah County jail by Portland police.

Online jail records on Friday show he continues to be held on a felony fugitive warrant with no bail and on an unknown Multonomah County hold.

It’s unclear what the warrant is for and Tri-Cities police have not said if it is in connection to the 34-year-old Kennewick mother of two.

On Friday, investigators confirmed for the first time that they considered her death a homicide after her family posted about her death.

“Let’s just call a spade a spade she was MURDERED,” said a social media post shared by Brandy Ebanez’s sister Breann Ebanez. “She was killed, then her body was put in the water to not be found ... like she didn’t matter.”

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office with help from Kennewick and Richland detectives have been investigating Ebanez’s death since her body was found just off shore, east of the cable bridge.

Investigators believe she had been in the river for a while before she was discovered, Lt. Jason Erickson confirmed to the Herald.

Kennewick police helped search Ebanez’s apartment on the 3700 block of West Kennewick Avenue on Sept. 29, where she reportedly lived with Jacobson and two children.

“Evidence collected thus far confirms this was not a random incident and detectives with Kennewick PD and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office are actively investigating this as a homicide,” Kennewick Sgt. Joe Santoy wrote in a news release Friday.

Until now officials have been reluctant to release much about her death or the investigation. And they had not made public that it was a murder investigation until Friday.

Santoy said they would release more information soon but no information on a suspect was released.

Benton County Superior Court records show Ebanez’s mother filed this week for emergency guardianship of Brandy’s daughters, ages 12 and 9. Details of the custody request are not public.

Jacobson was in Portland with the two girls when he was arrested on Sept. 30, according to investigators.

Missing for 2 weeks

Brandy Ebanez was one of six children who grew up in Pahala, Hawaii. She moved to the Tri-Cities six years ago.

A GoFundMe campaign created by Melrae Smith said she was loved by everyone who knew her. Smith was raising money to help the Ebanez family with travel costs and other expenses.

“She had the biggest heart and cared so much for people,” Smith wrote. “ If you ever knew Brandy, you know she would have your back no matter what. She was a great caring mother of two adorable daughters.”

“Because of this heinous act of violence, she will never get to teach her two girls how to drive. She’ll never get to watch them graduate. She won’t get to watch them walk down the aisle when they get married and all the little beautiful and precious moments in between,” according to the image posted by Breann Ebanez.

Breann Ebanez has previously said through Facebook that her sister had been reported missing but it’s unclear when.

She told a Honolulu television station that they weren’t able to reach their sister for more than two weeks.

She thanked the fisherman who discovered her body and urged anyone with information to contact the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. They can be reached at 509-735-6555.