The man recovered from the Cowlitz River about a quarter of a mile downstream from the Blue Creek fishing area northeast of Toledo on Friday has been identified as Joseph Slepski, 76, of Maple Valley, Washington.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 7, that it had positively identified Slepski as the decedent recovered from the river.
Cause and manner of death are pending forensic testing results, according to the coroner’s office.
Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office were initially dispatched to the Blue Creek area northeast of Toledo at 8:23 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, for a welfare check on an overdue fisherman, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies soon located a deceased individual trapped in a log jam in the river. With help from civilians at the scene, Lewis County Technical Rescue Team and personnel from the Chehalis Fire Department and Lewis County Fire District 6, deputies recovered the body Friday afternoon.
“(He) was wearing waders and nothing appeared overtly suspicious,” Field Operations Bureau Chief Dusty Breen said in an email to a Chronicle reporter Monday evening.
