Human Remains Found on Bank of Okanogan River

A citizen walking along the bank of the Okanogan River south of Tonasket discovered human remains Wednesday evening around 8:15.

Sheriff Tony Hawley said the remains appeared to have been in the water for a significant amount of time and are too decomposed to identify without help from the coroner.

"(The Okanogan County Coroner) was going to take the body over to King County and have the autopsy completed." Hawley explained, "We're hoping that we have some information that should lead us to who it is after the autopsy is complete, whether that's by dental records or a DNA search."

Although law enforcement didn't give a timetable on when the remains could be ID'd, dental records tend to take far less time than DNA tests.

The Sheriff's Department does have some thoughts as to possible identities.