There are more questions than answers surrounding the disappearance of “Dog Trainer

There are more questions than answers surrounding the disappearance of “Dog Trainer to the Stars” Mark Stover. But one thing is certain. If and when a body is found, there is one man willing to admit to his murder.That man would be Michiel Oakes. He’s the bodyguard-turned-boyfriend of Stover’s ex-wife, Linda Opdycke.Stover and Opdycke had once run a popular kennel on a private island owned by her wealthy family. They had celebrity clients like Ichiro Suzuki, Eddie Vedder and Howard Schultz.But in 2007 the pair had a nasty divorce. Stover was convicted of stalking Opdycke and leaving her angry, rambling voicemails. Apparently afraid for her safety, Opdycke hired Oakes, a professional relationship that eventually became a romantic one.Mark Stover hasn’t been seen alive in nearly a year.Stover was last seen on the morning of October 28. Hours later, a witness reported seeing two cars — one Stover’s, the other Oakes’ — parked bumper-to-bumper near Stover’s home. An unidentified man was moving a bundle wrapped in clear plastic from one to the other.When police came to Stover’s house the next day they found his dog, shot and bleeding. A bathroom reeked of bleach.Cops next went to Opdycke’s home to question Oakes. When he excused himself for a moment, police got suspicious. They saw him walk outside on to the home’s porch, then toss something wrapped in plastic down an embankment. When they retrieved the package they found a gun inside. In Oakes’ car, police also found a spent shell lodged in a bullet-proof vest. It would seem a good basis for a self-defense claim — what Oakes’ lawyer says his client will plead if they ever find Stover’s body. But the state says forensic evidence points to a scenario where Oakes shot the vest himself while it was lying flat on the ground.Stover’s friends and family are convinced Oakes’ is behind his disappearance. And Oakes and his lawyer certainly seem willing to concede the point.But there’s also talk that he may not be the only one involved. Opdycke’s father, the founder of Washington’s biggest winery, reportedly hired Oakes to look after his daughter. And some are speculating that he, or someone else, could be behind Stover’s disappearance, and a mysterious anonymous tip that came months before, when someone claimed that Stover was moving drugs out of his car.Should he be convicted of the first-degree murder charge he’s facing, Oakes could be sentenced to life in prison. Opdycke and her father, meanwhile, aren’t talking.