SOLVED - 2002 Willamette River Body

UPDATE - On August 24, 2002, Polk County Marine Patrol deputies located the body of a male in the Willamette River about two miles north of Wallace Marine Park.  Cause of death was determined to be by drowning by the Oregon State Medical Examiner during an autopsy.  Fingerprints were taken but no results were found based on searches at the time.  Periodic searches were made in following years with no results.  DNA testing was not possible as no sample was taken during autopsy, as was typical in 2002.

In October 2018, Cold Case members submitted the fingerprints again to the Oregon State Police Crime Lab and requested assistance from the FBI to access all available databases.  The FBI recently replaced their Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) with the New Generation Identification (NGI) system.  NGI offers advanced features to increase the accuracy and processing capacity as well as making a commitment to assist the challenges facing Cold Case teams by searching criminal and civil records.

On November 14, 2018, we were notified by the Oregon State Police Crime Lab that the prints were searched through the NGI system and confirmed a match.  Detectives were able to contact family in the mid-western United States and learned that they havn’t seen or heard from him since 2001.  The remains have been returned to the family.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the work of the Cold Case Team, the Oregon State Police, and the FBI for their dedication in identifying this subject, and to have him finally returned to his family.

Original Article - On August 24, 2002, the body of an adult male was found in the Willamette River just north of Salem.  The male was between 30-40 years old, 5’9” tall, medium build, and had short, slightly graying brown hair.  The male was wearing blue plaid shorts covering a pair of tan shorts.  He was not wearing shoes or a shirt.

An autopsy concluded the male died as a result of drowning.  The Medical Examiner determined the male had clean and well manicured finger and toe nails, and concluded the male had been in the water for about ten days.

A witness told investigators that he had been at Wallace Marine Park in Salem on August 17, 2002, having lunch and noticed a man standing in the water just south of the boat dock.  The witness described the male as wearing dark colored pants or shorts.  The witness told investigators the male went out into the middle of the river and got into deeper water and started to bob up and down and then disappeared from sight under the water.

The area near Wallace Marine Park is where many homeless people camp and it was considered that the unidentified male might have been homeless.  However, the information regarding the male having clean and well manicured finger and toe nails makes this less likely.  Also, the male had a shopping list in his pocket for items consistent with items to be purchased for a barbeque.  The shopping list also had notes written on the back that indicate he may have been a painter.

A search of missing person records from 2002 did not yield any clues to the male’s identity.

The Polk County Cold Case Team has been working on this case since 2013, but the identity of this male is still unknown.  The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information to call the Tip Line at 503-623-1878 and refer to Case #02-4233.