The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the identity and cause of death of a body who was found about 50 yards downstream from the covered bridge on Douglas Park Drive near Hiouchi on Sunday.

A river guide discovered the body in a pile of driftwood and other debris on the banks of the Smith River and called dispatch at about 6 p.m., Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Monday. The person had been deceased for quite a few months and the DNSO does not yet know if foul play was involved, Scott said.

“We’re searching now to find out if any agencies have a missing person,” he said. “It appears the body is of an adult male over the age of 60. We’re doing an investigation to find out if we have any missing persons or where he went into the river.”

The DNSO will be ordering an autopsy done to determine the decedent’s identity as well as cause of death, Scott told the Outpost.

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