Body found in Snoqualmie River is missing Milton man

A body found last Friday in the Snoqualmie River is believed to be that of a 51 year-old Milton man, who had gone missing three days prior.

The man, whose body was discovered about 3 p.m. Friday, April 29, about half a mile from the Mount Si trailhead, was last seen by anyone on Tuesday, April 26.

His identity had not been released by the King County Medical Examiner Monday morning, but Sheriff’s Department spokesman John Urquhart confirmed the man’s age and city of residence by e-mail.

The missing man was found because of his car, parked at the Mount Si trailhead. A King County Sheriff’s deputy ticketed the car for an overnight parking violation, and contacted the police in Milton, where the car was registered.

Milton Police Chief Bill Rhoeds said his office was notified around 12:30 p.m. Friday, that the car had been ticketed.

His officers knew the man.

“He was an avid hiker, but he had some medical issues,” Rhoeds said. So the department requested a a search-and-rescue operation for the missing man.

Around 2:15 p.m. Friday, the man’s mother reported that she hadn’t seen her son for days, and the last known contact with him had been Tuesday, April 26.

About an hour later, North Bend Police Chief Mark Toner said he visited the trailhead area, and around 3 p.m., the man’s body was spotted by the King County Sheriff’s Guardian One helicopter. The Sheriff’s marine unit recovered the body and turned it over to the King County Medical Examiner’s office.

“There were no indications of foul play,” Toner said, such as no obvious stab or gunshot wounds. He said the Medical Examiner would conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and time of death.