UPDATE: 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, Oct. 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.
PREVIOUS STORY: The body of a 76-year-old man was recovered from the Cowlitz River about a quarter of a mile downstream from the Blue Creek fishing area northeast of Toledo on Friday.
Lewis County sheriff and coroner personnel did not release the man’s name on Monday.
Deputies with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office were initially dispatched to the area 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.
“We got a call shortly before he was found from friends or family saying they hadn’t heard from him,” Special Services Chief Kevin Engelbertson said.
Deputies located the man’s camper. When they couldn’t make contact with him there, they began asking around.
“No one had seen him,” Engelbertson said.
While there was “nothing to suggest he had drowned with the wellness check,” Engelbertson said deputies asked a passing fishing boat to take them downriver after they were unable to find him on shore.
The deputies on the fishing boat soon located the man’s body trapped in a log jam, according to the sheriff’s office.
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.
There were no signs of foul play, according to Engelbertson.
The Lewis County Coroner’s Office will determine the man’s cause and manner of death in the coming weeks.
