Toledo Man Arrested For Murder Regarding Staggs Disappearance

On Thursday, January 9, 2025, at around 3:00 PM, 54-year old Murphy Calvin Henry, II, of Toledo was arrested without incident, and lodged at the Lincoln County Jail for the crimes of Murder in the Second Degree, Abuse of a Corpse in the Second Degree, and Tampering with Evidence related to the disappearance of 31-year old Ryan Staggs of Newport.

Staggs was last seen in late January 2022 at his residence located on NW 55th Street and was reported as a missing person in February 2022. Investigators received numerous pieces of information, but nothing led to the location of Staggs.  The Lincoln County DA Cold Case Unit, comprised of DA investigators and three retired volunteers, have continued to follow-up leads and develop new information regarding Staggs’ disappearance since May 2022.

On Friday, December 27, 2024, at approximately 7:10 AM, a search warrant was executed at a home on NW 7th Street in Newport as an investigative effort into the disappearance of Staggs. Cadaver canines alerted to the scent of human remains in the ground soil removed from the backyard. An extensive search was conducted; however, no human remains were recovered. Through the execution of this search warrant, additional information and witnesses were identified and the investigation continued.

On January 8, 2025, investigators were led to a shallow grave site in remote Lincoln County, Oregon, where human remains were located.  The Oregon State Police Crime Lab and Lincoln County Medicolegal Death Investigator responded to assist in removing the human remains. The remains are believed to be Ryan Staggs, which will be confirmed through the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office.  

The incident remains under investigation by the Lincoln County Major Crime Team, which consists of detectives from Newport Police Department, Lincoln City Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police, Lincoln County DA’s Office, Toledo Police Department, and the FBI. If you, or anyone you know has information related to the disappearance or murder of Ryan Staggs, please contact Newport Police Det. Darren Cicerone at 541-574-3348, or through the Newport Police Tip Line at 541-270-1856 or tipline@newportpolice.net.