One of two men in canoe perishes in water

Members of the Cowlitz County Sheriff Office’s dive team resumed a search Monday morning for a missing 23-year-old Vancouver man, Michael C. Peterson. Divers found Peterson’s body before 10 a.m. (KATU photo)

The body of a 23-year-old Vancouver man was recovered Monday by scuba divers, the morning after he went missing in the frigid waters of the Lewis River south of Woodland.

Michael C. Peterson was found by Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office’s dive team members just before 10 a.m. Rescuers found him in the river, adjacent to the 1200 block of South Pekin Road, close to where the north fork meets the east fork of the Lewis River. It was near the same spot he went missing late Sunday night.

Though rescuers were grateful to find him soon after resuming the late-night search, the mood was grim.

"It is very painful, whether it’s one of your own or one of the citizens you serve," said Cowlitz County Fire District 5 Chief Vic Leatzow.

Peterson was reported missing about 11:30 p.m., after he and a 28-year-old friend had attended a party across the river from 1230 S. Pekin Road. The two were canoeing downstream when the boat tipped, Leatzow said.

"Apparently, both of them were holding onto the canoe, trying to kick back to shore," he said.

After being unable to push the boat, the 28-year-old friend let go and swam to shore to get help. He alerted a resident, who relayed information to dispatchers.

The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office mounted the search, with the help of the Woodland Police Department, the Washington State Patrol, Cowlitz County Fire District 1 and Clark County Fire and Rescue.

The U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter to search overhead for Peterson, and authorities used thermal imaging cameras to scan the river and the banks surrounding the area, Leatzow said.

The search was suspended at 3 a.m., but resumed later that morning. Sheriff’s divers combed the river floor of Peterson’s last known location. On the road next to the river, orange spray paint marked where Peterson was last seen.

Just as members of the Clark County-based dive team, Southwest Washington Organization of Rescue Divers, arrived to assist, Cowlitz County divers motioned that they had found Peterson’s body. It was about 9:40 a.m.

An autopsy was scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Neither Peterson or his friend were wearing life jackets, something that Leatzow recommends for all boaters. When rescuers found the overturned canoe Sunday night, they found life jackets inside.

"The death could have been prevented by a life jacket," Leatzow said.

Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.