River yields 10 bodies in 16 months

An unusually high number of bodies have been pulled from the Spokane River in the past 16 months, reports revealed on Wednesday.

Ten bodies, including that of an unidentified black man on Tuesday night, have surfaced and been retrieved by marine deputies since March 2006, according to the Spokane County medical examiner’s office. Officials said normally about two bodies are found per year.

Police will look for an 11th body today, that of a half-naked man who jumped into the rapidly flowing water last week to elude Riverfront Park security. If found, the body would be the third this month, said Deputy Tom Walker, a lead member of the Spokane County Marine Unit.

While a corpse often leads to thoughts of foul play, that doesn’t hold true with those found in the Spokane River.

“Most of the time they are suicides,” or accidents, said Walker, whose team is often responsible for recovering the corpses.

It’s not clear why so many bodies have been found lately. However, the recently released medical examiner’s report said there were 12 more suicides locally last year than in 2005.

Death records for those pulled out of the Spokane River since March 2006 include one homicide, three suicides, three people drowned in accidents and one cause of death that’s still undetermined. The causes of death for the two men found in the river this month are still pending.

Bodies normally resurface in seven to 10 days, Walker said. They typically float at the surface for 24 to 48 hours before sinking again.

Today, divers are expected to search for the man who ran from Riverfront Park security on June 21 and jumped in the river. He is believed to have drowned.

Avista Corp. will drop the river flow by 2 feet to assist law enforcement in their search, said Hugh Imhof, a spokesman for the utility company.

The search will take place below the Post Street Bridge. After the divers are out of the water, the river flow will be restored.

Spokane police Detective Theresa Ferguson said Wednesday she is reviewing missing person reports to determine the identity of the man found Tuesday night.