SPOKANE COUNTY, September 9, 2009 – The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will bury an unidentified male who was found on June 26, 2007, in the Spokane River just east of the Washington Street Bridge at 303 W. Northriver Drive. After two years, all identification leads have been exhausted and the man will be buried as a “John

Doe” at Fairmount Memorial Park (5200 W. Wellesley) on Wednesday, September 23rd at 11:00 a.m.
When the body was recovered from the Spokane River, it was in an advanced stage of decomposition. It is believed that the body may have been in the river for a substantial length of time before discovery, possibly going back to September 2006. The deceased was approximately 5’ 3” – 5’6” tall, estimated to weigh between 130-180 pounds, possibly of multi-racial ancestry, and had black Negroid hair.
This man would have had significant and noticeable facial deformities as he was noted to have a previous jaw fracture which had been surgically repaired as well a nasal fracture. He also had a healed injury in the area of his left eyebrow which most likely would have resulted in a significant scar. These injuries could have all been sustained in a single traumatic incident and/or could have occurred several years prior to his death.
The Medical Examiner's Office would like to take the time to say a special thank you the following individuals and companies who have either donated or provided their services at a substantially discounted rate:
• Fairmount Memorial Park - substantial discount for burial
• Mike Jack - substantial discount for the casket
• Dustin Hegewald of Spokane Professional Transport – donation of time to transport the decedent to the cemetery
• Hennessey Smith Funeral Home - donating the use of the funeral home's transport coach to transport the decedent's body
• Chaplain Beth Wilson, Spokane Police Department Chaplain - donating her time to provide the service
For more detailed information, please refer to our website at http://www.spokanecounty.org/medexaminer/unident.aspx#unident. If you think you might know the identity of the deceased, call our office at (509) 477-2296.