Sheriff's office recovers body of missing Gold Bar man

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office recovered the body of a missing 70-year-old Gold Bar man from the Skykomish River on Thursday afternoon.

Three fishermen boating on the river spotted the body of Olaf Eriksen and called 911 around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Eriksen had been missing since Monday. The sheriff’s office found his cane by the Skykomish River, in the 800 block of Croft Avenue in Gold Bar, by determining where Eriksen had last used his cellphone. Eriksen's body was found about 10 miles away, around the 27600 block of 170th Street Southeast near Monroe, around 2 p.m. Thursday, June 22, according to a news release.

Eriksen had gone for a walk around 1:30 p.m. Monday. His wife called the authorities about 30 minutes later, when he didn't return. Wendy Eriksen Benjamin said that’s about how long it took her father to complete his regular route.

Usually Eriksen would walk down Fifth Street north of U.S. Highway 2, then east or west down Lewis Avenue, Benjamin said. He would sometimes head over to Orchard Street or the highway, which he never usually crossed, she said.

Benjamin had stated on Tuesday, June 20, that the family had not expected Eriksen to be found alive.

 “....Knowing his mobility, the family has all discussed that he is probably not coming home,” she said Tuesday.

Benjamin said this was one of the first times he had gone for a walk since his border collie died last month. She said the dog, Bitty, usually helped her father make it back to the house he shared with his wife, Donna.

“He was walking that dog around town for 14 years,” Benjamin said.

Eriksen's wife was his 24-hour caregiver, Benjamin said. Donna Eriksen also had help from her grandson's wife, Kaeley, and Benjamin's sister, Taura.

Eriksen had cognitive problems, similar to dementia, which lately had been getting worse and were exacerbated by the medications he took. Eriksen also had poor eyesight, she said.