Moses Lake man missing at O’Sullivan Reservoir
Richard Smith, 54, left to go fishing Oct. 3 at O’Sullivan Reservoir and the girlfriend has not heard from him since. Smith’s truck at the reservoir and the GCSO have completed three days of searching the reservoir.
GCSO PHOTOS
MOSES LAKE – The Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Grant County Fire District No. 5 began looking for a 54-year-old Moses Lake man Oct. 6, according to a GCSO release. Richard Smith left to go fishing Oct. 3 at O’Sullivan Reservoir in Grant County. His girlfriend has not heard from him since.
Smith is 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, hazel eyes and bald with a white goatee.
Smith’s truck was found at “Medicare Beach” at the end of a Fish and Wildlife access road along the north shore of O’Sullivan Reservoir, according to the GCSO statement. Smith had brought two boats with him, a 12-foot flat-bottom aluminum boat and a kayak. The kayak was found in his truck, the aluminum boat was not. There was a single set of boat drag marks from the truck down to the water edge and no drag marks back to the vehicle.
Smith likes to bass fish and told his girlfriend he was going to go fish where the water was coming in and out of O’Sullivan Reservoir. Smith recently had knee surgery which impacts his mobility. His phone is assumed to be dead and not sending any signals. GCSO does not suspect foul play.
A search effort of two boats, two fixed-wing aircraft and a drone commenced, which covered a large chunk of open water and shoreline Oct. 6. However, Smith, his equipment and his boat were not found.
The next day, GCSO search managers tried to reestablish contact with Jorge Felix, a Yakima man who on Saturday found what has been confirmed to be Smith’s tackle box and flotation device. The equipment was found on the shoreline and was turned over to deputies Sunday night. However, they have not been able to contact Felix since. GCSO is asking Felix to contact the sheriff’s office. The Sheriff’s Marine patrol boat also launched and searched the reservoir alongside deputies and Smith’s family.
On Oct. 8, GCSO returned to the O’Sullivan Reservoir to continue searching for Smith, deploying the Sheriff’s Marine boat and drone. The Sheriff’s Mounted Posse rode the shoreline of the reservoir. By the end of Tuesday, Smith had not been found.
GCSO is asking anyone with information to contact the office at 509-762-1160 with case number 24GS12378.
Updates to come as more information is released.