Dead man apparently a transient
A woman out walking her dog Saturday morning discovered the body of a man believed to be a transient near railroad tracks that slice between the Spokane River and busy Northwest Boulevard in Coeur d’Alene.
Police said preliminary autopsy results Monday morning showed no obvious signs of trauma and the man – who has not yet been identified – most likely died of natural causes.
Police are asking for help in finding the man’s name, or if he has family.
If he is a transient, as seems likely, he would be the second transient to die in Coeur d’Alene in as many weeks. Workers at a recycling plant on Oct. 29 discovered the body of 42-year-old Tabi Gordon Robb, who had apparently taken shelter in a Dumpster of full of cardboard on a cold night. Robb was crushed to death when the load was picked up by a recycling truck and compacted.
According to police, the body found Saturday was on a dirt access road just to the west of the U.S. Highway 95 bridge and between the river and the railroad spur that serves the Stimson Lumber mill. Though close to one of Coeur d’Alene’s busier arterials, the spot is an overgrown and secluded no-man’s land and has been home to transients over the years.
A lean-to shelter, a shopping cart and bits of plywood were still standing along the railroad spur in a tree-lined cut near where the body was found.
Police said the man appeared to be between 50 and 60 years old. He was described as 6-foot-4, about 150 pounds with gray curly hair, balding and gray facial hair.
He was wearing a blue coat, black pants and brown hiking boots. A blue backpack was found near the body.
Social service workers at St. Vincent de Paul, which runs Coeur d’Alene’s only men’s shelter, said they were unaware of the second transient death Monday afternoon.
Even if transient or homeless men don’t use the shelter, they often stop by for bread, clothing or other necessities offered by St. Vincent’s, social worker Asa Sizemore said.
“If they are homeless in this area, they usually come here first,” Sizemore said.
Workers at the shelter have noted a sharp increase in people they help, Sizemore said. In the summer of 2003, he said, there were typically only four or five people in the 12-bed shelter.
“This summer, it was full all summer and now winter’s coming,” Sizemore said. “We see so many people. The area is a lot bigger and still there is only one men’s shelter.
“People come here thinking there’s going to be work and then they’re not able to find any. Or people come and say they can’t afford the rent, they say wages are not enough for them to survive,” Sizemore said.
Anyone with information about the man’s identity is asked to call the Coeur d’Alene Police tip line, (208) 769-2296.