Cowlitz Search and Rescue volunteers found and recovered the body of a missing elderly man from the Lewis River near Woodland Feb. 7, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s deputies received a call late Feb. 6 from the manager of the Lewis River RV Park west of Woodland regarding an elderly resident, Stephen Glen Orley, 69, who had not been seen for several days, according to an alert from the Sheriff’s Office. A deputy learned that Orley had health problems and suffered from dementia and was not seen in his trailer. Orley’s car was also parked by the trailer.
One neighbor reported they had heard Orley yelling early morning Tuesday, Feb. 6 but given his dementia this was not an uncommon event, the alert stated. Calls to relatives and local hospitals were placed though no one contacted had seen Orley.
On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 7 Cowlitz Search and Rescue deputies were called in and found Orley’s body in Lewis River, about 100 yards downstream from his trailer located on the riverbank. Divers were called in to assist in the recovery.
As of the time of the alert there was nothing the sheriff’s office was aware of to indicate any crime.
