Updated: Missing woman's body found in Wallace Falls

The body of an 18-year-old woman believed to have fallen into the Wallace River on Wednesday was found at the base of the lower Wallace Falls on Thursday.

“It is believed that she was swept over the falls and died in the water,” according to a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office news release. “Search and rescue crews are working on a plan to safely recover her from the area.”

Wallace Falls State Park was shut down that day while the sheriff’s office search and rescue team looked for the woman, whom the Snohomish County Medical Examiner identified as Haylei N. Hughes.

Her GoPro stick and shoes were found at the base of Wallace Falls, and she was still missing by the time efforts were suspended Wednesday night, according to a news release.

Hughes had been hiking with friends in the park when she fell in. Group members said they had climbed over a railing to cross Wallace River. They headed out to an island and then made their way back to the trail.

That was when Hughes cried out, and a splash in the water was heard, according to a release. Her friends called 911 at about 7:45 p.m. Hughes is from Las Vegas, and went to a community college in the area.

Four Snohomish County emergency response agencies deployed crews to look for the woman Wednesday, according to the Gold Bar Firefighters Association. A SnoHawk1 helicopter searched from the air, and staff also looked on the ground. The search was called off when it became too dark, and resumed on Thursday.

The examiner’s office lists the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries.

Hughest is the fourth person to have fallen into one of the area’s rivers this summer. Seattle man Adrian B. Jovanovic, 49, and Texas woman Shauna R. Geffon, 25, both fell in and drowned at Sunset Falls, east of Index.

Jovanovic had been out walking with his 32-year-old girlfriend at the time, and Geffon was sitting on a rock with her mother near the water. Search efforts were hindered by the high volume of water coming over the falls. Jovanovic and Geffon’s bodies were found downstream in the weeks that followed.

Fishermen found the body of Gold Bar man Olaf Ericksen after he went missing near his home. The 70-year-old had been out for a walk, and his family called 911 when he didn’t return home at the time he was expected. He had cognitive problems similar to dementia and poor eyesight.

All three people went into the water in June.

The sheriff’s office has been urging the public to stay a safe distance away from the rivers.