Man arrested in 2009 Red Elk murder

A Boise man has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder in the 2009 death of Eugene Lorene Red Elk, police said Thursday.

A friend of Red Elk’s family said Martin Edmo Ish, 58, has been a person of interest for some time.

Family members and friends say this is a big step toward finally getting closure.

“It’s not over, not until there’s a conviction,” said Carey Jennings, a family friend. “To know it’s on the road to that, there’s actually somebody arrested and charged with first-degree murder, it’s what we hoped for all along.”

Ish was arrested in Boise on a Bannock County warrant, and will be taken to Bannock County in the near future.

Pocatello Police Chief Scott Marchand said the last several months of focused investigation uncovered several new leads in the case.

“Our detectives, our patrolmen, senior staff– none of those people have ever given up on any of these cases. We have several cold cases, but to be able to sit here and say we have cleared two cold cases in the last six months is unbelievable,” said Marchand.

Red Elk was found with severe head and chest trauma on the night of June 14, 2009, in the parking lot of Duffy’s Tavern at 1304 N. Main, where he worked as a part-time bouncer. He died three days later.

Since then, county and city police have been looking for his killer. In March of this year, they offered a $5,000 reward to anyone with new leads on the case, but it was not used, police said.

Police still encourage anyone with information to come forward. You can call the detective division at 208-234-6121.