Seattle Couple Presumed Drowned

A Seattle couple who planned to duck hunt on the icy Columbia River are missing and feared drowned, the Walla Walla County sheriff said.

Tobias Brown, 29, and Cindy Thoreson, 35, left Seattle on Dec. 22 for a few days of hunting.

Brown’s pickup truck has been found in the parking lot of Madame Dorian State Park at Wallula Junction.

“We really don’t know what happened to them,” said Sheriff Bill Jackson said. “If their boat capsized, they’re on their way down the river by now. We’re assuming the worst.”

So far, investigators have found no sign of the couple or their 10-foot boat.

The search has focused on the islands in the river where friends say the two planned to hunt, but severe weather has hampered efforts.

A helicopter borrowed by the sheriff’s office from Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane was forced to turn back Monday because of icing on the blades.

Along the shore, the search is being carried out by the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue Team, battling four-foot waves and below-freezing temperatures.

“The weather was so bad last night that the waves would wash over the side, and then freeze on our boat,” said Tony Valdez, a Kennewick police officer who is dive team president.

“We had guys holding flashlights and freezing to them. They had to put their hands in the water to thaw them off.”

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