Body recovered beneath Palouse Falls

Franklin County emergency crews recovered a body Monday morning believed to be that of a 26-year-old Pullman man who went missing last week.

Scott Ruppelius, spokesman for Columbia Basin Dive Rescue, said the body was discovered at about 11 a.m. underneath the falls. The Franklin County Coroner will release identity and cause of death.

The body is likely that of Noble Stoneman, a former Washington State University student who went missing Thursday afternoon after witnesses said he fell about 100 feet into a pool of water above the falls when the ground beneath him crumbled.

Multiple dive and rescue crews searched the water but were unable to locate him due to the heavy current.

The state park was closed Thursday and remained closed Monday. A representative with Washington State Parks couldn’t say when it would reopen.

The incident is third case of a death at the falls in a year. On April 21, 23-year-old Issac Engell died after he was sucked underneath the falls while swimming with his friends. His body was located days later several miles downriver.

After Engell disappeared, the popular state park was closed. It was reopened May 3.

Last year on May 29, 25-year-old Cade Prophet died after he slipped and fell from a cliff and into the river just above the falls. His body was recovered a day later.