News Release from: Clackamas Co. Sheriff's Office

Clackamas County Sheriff's Office helps recover deceased female from Eagle Creek

Posted: Jan. 4, 2009

EAGLE CREEK -- On Saturday morning (Jan. 3, 2009), Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputies received a report of a missing 46-year-old female Eagle Creek resident.

At 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, a pick-up truck similar to the missing female's described vehicle was discovered crashed and partially submerged in a section of Eagle Creek. The crashed truck was found an estimated 100 yards upstream from the entrance of Eagle Fern Park on SE Kitzmiller Road in Eagle Creek.

Clackamas County Sheriff's Patrol deputies responded and met with the Eagle Fern Park Ranger who had discovered the crashed and partially submerged pick-up truck in Eagle Creek.

Deputies report that the vehicle, situated in furiously swift-moving Eagle Creek, had received a great deal of body damage. Initially, the vehicle was not accessible to confirm that it belonged to the missing female.

Deputies learned of the missing female and recognized that Southeast Kitzmiller Road, which runs along this portion of Eagle Creek, is part of the route the missing female would reportedly drive to access her residence on Kitzmiller Road in the unincorporated Eagle Creek area of Clackamas County.

On-scene deputies searched the area on foot, looking for the missing female -- inspecting the riverbank until nighttime conditions prohibited further searching. Deputies noted a significant log jam that had formed at a bridge approximately 100 yards downriver from the location of the vehicle in Eagle Creek. County personnel advised the deputies that this log jam of debris might require as long as a week to successfully clear away.

On Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009 at 8 a.m., members of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and Marine units returned to the Eagle Fern Park search location to resume efforts identify the crashed vehicle located in the Eagle Creek and to find any potential victims.

At approximately noon today (Sunday, Jan. 4), an unidentified human body was discovered downstream from the bridge, and a Clackamas County Deputy Medical Examiner was summoned to the scene.

As of Sunday, Jan. 4, deputies were unable to access the crashed truck in the water; proper identification of this vehicle is not attainable at this point in time. Harsh conditions exist, and it is considered extremely dangerous to attempt any vehicle recovery from the water at this time.

The responding Clackamas County Deputy Medical Examiner was responsible for identifying the body and making any family notifications.

The body was recovered around noon today (Sunday, Jan. 4) from Eagle Creek. Deputies worked with Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue to located the deceased female, who was found approximately one-half mile downstream from where the victim's vehicle is believed to have entered the water from SE Kitzmiller Road.

The deceased was identified as Debra Mae Bennett, 46. She resided with her mother on SE Kitzmiller Road in Eagle Creek.

Debra Bennett was last seen departing her place of employment in Eagle Creek on Saturday morning at 1 a.m.; she was believed to be en route to her home. She was reported missing by her concerned mother Saturday morning, after Debra failed to arrive home.

No foul play is suspected in this unfortunate traffic-related fatality.

[END]

Contact Info: Jim Strovink, Detective