The body of a Moses Lake man who went missing at O’Sullivan Reservoir earlier this month has been found.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office says 54-year-old Richard Smith was pulled from the waters of the reservoir on Sunday afternoon.
Sheriff’s spokesperson, Kyle Foreman, says Smith’s body surfaced about 100 yards from where several of his possessions were found along the shores of the reservoir in the days following his disappearance.
Smith was last seen alive by his girlfriend on Oct. 3 prior his departure for a fishing trip at O’Sullivan.
Smith’s tackle box and a floatation device from a boat he is believed to have used were discovered by a Yakima man on Oct. 4, and searchers found a baseball cap belonging to Smith on Saturday, when deputies also found a vehicle that had been stolen out of Ephrata last year in the reservoir. Investigators say there is no evidence linking it to Smith.
Smith’s body is now in the care of Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison, who will conduct an autopsy this week to determine his exact cause of death.
Authorities speculate that Smith, who’d been hobbled by recent knee surgery, may have fallen into the reservoir and drowned.