Drowning death could be suicide

Published 11:54 am Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE PASS – The June 4 apparent drowning death of a 28-year old Wenatchee woman could be suicide.

According to King County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart, the woman was traveling from Portland to Wenatchee with her boyfriend when the two stopped off at Tinkham Campground, located about 12 miles east of North Bend in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Urquhart said at around noon the man went to take a nap in his tent and when he woke up the woman was gone. The boyfriend found the woman stuck beneath a log in the South Fork of the Snoqualmie River with her head above water, according to Urquhart.

The boyfriend contacted a ranger who helped him extricate the body. The two performed CPR on the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The King County Medical Examiner’s office said it would be six to eight weeks until toxicology reports were due back regarding the woman. When those reports are received, the office will rule on the death.