A body found in July in the Columbia River has been identified as a Vancouver man who was reported missing in May 2021.
The Multnomah County, Ore., Sheriff’s Office recovered the body from the river July 7. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office notified Vancouver police last month it believed the body might be that of 36-year-old Brandon T. Majors, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
Majors was reported missing May 12, 2021, from Vancouver.
Detectives provided medical examiner staff with Majors’ dental and medical records to help identify him, a Vancouver police news release states.
On Thursday, the medical examiner’s office confirmed the body was Majors, Vancouver police said. Investigators notified his family.
Majors was last seen leaving Vancouver’s Rose Village neighborhood in a BMW SUV, according to a previous update from Vancouver police. About an hour later, officers received reports that the SUV had driven into the Columbia River, but police didn’t find anyone in the area.
Witnesses told police they saw multiple people run from the area where the SUV was found.
In the first year Majors was considered missing, detectives conducted dozens of interviews but said they had not received any information about what happened to Majors. Some of his acquaintances believed foul play was involved, but detectives said they have not heard from anyone with firsthand knowledge of what happened.
Several of the people Majors was last seen with had refused to cooperate at the time, the news release stated.
Anyone with information about Majors is asked to contact Vancouver police Detective Zachary Ripp at 360-487-7391 or zachary.ripp@cityofvancouver.us.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Portland Police Bureau assisted with the missing person investigation.
