The body of a missing Oregon man was found in Cowlitz County Sunday, according to a news release from the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
Brent Erickson, of St. Helens, Oregon, had last been seen on Aug. 7. According to the sheriff’s office, Erickson had gone to deliver food to a family near the Kalama River but never made it.
The sheriff’s office had been assisting the St. Helens Police Department in the search.
On Aug. 28, a witness reportedly found Erickson’s 2003 Ford F-150 stuck in a ditch in Weyerhaeuser timberland near the 6402 line. The truck was unoccupied.
“Deputies were unable to locate Erickson at this time, and due to hours of darkness, the scene was secured and a search and rescue mission was initiated the following morning,” Undersheriff Troy Brightbill said in Monday’s news release.
On Aug. 29, Cowlitz County Search and Rescue personnel attempted to locate Erickson but were unsuccessful. A Weyerhaeuser Woods Security employee found his body the next day — about a half mile from Erickson’s truck.
Brightbill described the location as a “steep area with thick underbrush.
“Deputies responded to the scene with the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office and recovered the body,” Brightbill said. “Mr. Erickson’s next of kin was notified of his passing.”
According to the release, the cause and manner of Erickson’s death is pending, though an autopsy has been conducted.
“The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the citizens, staff and volunteers who assisted in the search for Mr. Erickson,” Brightbill said in the release. “Search efforts included over 800 miles of road searches in the St. Helens Tree Farm, in addition to ground searches, Human Remains Detection K-9 searches, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) searches.”
Brightbill noted assistance from Columbia County Search and Rescue, Clark County Search and Rescue, Cowlitz County Department of Emergency Management Amateur Communication Services, Weyerhaeuser Woods Security and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office UAS Unit and its reserve deputies.
