Drowning victim's body found in Columbia

DESERT AIRE - The body of a man, presumably the one for whom there had been an intense search, was located Saturday in the Columbia River near here, two days after that search was downgraded.

The body was found by relatives of the man who had dived into the river the previous Sunday and not re-surfaced. They discovered the body at about 11 a.m. along the western shore of the Priest Rapids Dam pool and called authorities.

The Grant County Coroner took custody of the body. As is customary, he was to release the name of the victim after confirmation of identity. That confirmation came too late for the newspaper's deadline.

The man who was the focus of the search was with a group of boaters from western Washington. The group stopped its boats to do some diving and swimming around 2:45 p.m. on Aug. 19, and the accident occurred.

The intense search, which included local divers, a remote-controlled robot and the Seattle Harbor Patrol was ended Thursday. Starting that day, it was hoped the body would be located during routine patrols by law enforcement.

According to Kyle Foreman, of Emergency Management Services, the man was in his 40s or 50s. He had not been identified publicly as of Sunday because some family members were not yet aware of the accident.

Grant County Sheriff's Marine Deputies, Search and Rescue Divers, an underwater robot from Franklin County Sheriff's Office, global positioning and sonar equipment operated by the Seattle Police Department Harbor Patrol, and patrol boats from Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Grant County PUD searched the surface, shoreline and underwater in the river during daylight hours from the time the man disappeared until the end of Thursday.

"I am very sorry for this man's family," Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said. "The Grant County Sheriff's Office extends its sincerest condolences."