Potholes drowning victim found
Area officials are encouraging residents and visitors to use caution when boating and recreating on, in or near the water after a Moses Lake man drowned earlier this month. His remains were recovered over the weekend.
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EPHRATA – On Sunday, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office recovered Richard Smith’s body from O’Sullivan Reservoir. Smith went fishing Oct. 3 and after his girlfriend did not hear from him for three days, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office began a search at the reservoir Oct. 6.
“His body surfaced about 100 yards away from where his possessions were found,” GSCO Public Information Officer, Kyle Foreman said. “His body was recovered. It's now in the care of the Grant County Coroner's Office, they will conduct an autopsy, which is normal procedure, and there was no indication of anything amiss. No foul play. So, we're pending the autopsy results. This looks like it was just a terrible accident.”
GCSO and Grant County Marine Patrol led the search at the reservoir daily from around 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. until Smith was found. The search began a little over a week ago after Smith’s girlfriend found his truck parked at Medicare Beach on Oct. 6 with one of the two boats he’d brought missing and no sign of him.
The search began with the first day consisting of two airplanes, two boats, two drones and people walking along the shore, according to Foreman. Smith’s tacklebox and fishing gear were found along the shore by searchers. According to the release from GCSO the size of and vegetation made the searching process harder.
On the second day, fewer resources were allocated to the search; however, there were still drones and boats searching the reservoir.
Saturday a group of Kittitas search and rescue divers came out and searched the surface and used sonar technology to look for Smith. They did not find him; however, they did find a stolen vehicle from Ephrata that was not correlated to the Smith rescue.
Foreman said there are normally one to two drownings annually in Grant County in lakes, the Columbia River or irrigation canals.
The Columbia Basin Herald has reported on several of drownings in Grant County in the last few years. In June 2021 a teenager, who was swimming in an irrigation canal got pulled underwater by a strong current. In July 2021, a Moses Lake man died trying to swim in the irrigation canals. In July 2022, a Soap Lake man drowned due to low water and the absence of a sufficient boat launch. Then, in July 2024, there was a drowning at Banks Lake due to insufficient flotation devices.
Some safety tips GCSO wants to remind people of are to always wear life jackets, do not drink and drive a boat under the influence of alcohol or other substances. Foreman also said that people should be mindful of other boaters, people on the water and weather conditions. Foreman added that those boating on the Columbia River should be aware of the changing water levels caused by the dams in the area.
“People should not swim in irrigation canals, it is an attractive nuisance,” Foreman said. “Irrigation canals are unpredictable, debris that people can get caught up on and drown and we see that. So just do not swim in them.”
GCSO released a final statement regarding Smith, which says that the office is sending sympathies and peace for Smith’s family members who have had a difficult nine days. The statement also thanks the community for their help and diver Corey Cooper and his colleagues who traveled from Western Washington to help with the search.
“Those acts of kindness show us how well people can come together and support each other during emergencies,” reads the statement.