Body found in Columbia River identified as missing Vancouver woman

A body recovered from the Columbia River last week was identified on Monday as a Vancouver woman who went missing more than a month ago.

A hiker spotted the body from Beacon Rock State Park and reported it to Skamania County authorities Thursday night. The body was transported to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office and identified Monday as Daphne Alexander-Christ, 44.

There’s nothing to suggest that foul play led to her death, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Alexander-Christ left her home around noon March 7. The next day, when Alexander-Christ didn’t answer her phone, a missing-person report was filed. That Sunday, deputies with the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office found her black Suzuki Forenza in the parking lot of Beacon Rock State Park with a ticket on it because it had been left overnight.

After searching the area that Sunday and Monday, investigators with Skamania and Clark counties were not able to find her.

Once the discovered body was identified as Alexander-Christ, her family members released a statement that thanked those who helped in the search.

“Daphne’s husband and children would like to thank their family, friends and the community for all their loving support,” Alexander-Christ’s cousin Lisa Bloomquist wrote. “They would like to also extend their thanks to the volunteers with the search and rescue personnel and the Skamania County and the Clark County sheriff’s offices for all their hard work and time spent looking for Daphne.”

Alexander-Christ worked in special education classrooms as a staff assistant at Lake Shore Elementary School in Vancouver.

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