Clark County Medical Examiner identifies man found dead in Lake River

Published 5:20 pm Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Portland Police Bureau vehicles at a crime scene. (File photo)

A man found floating dead in Lake River was identified as 57-year-old Vancouver resident Richard Alan Price by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday.

Price’s body was reportedly recovered in Ridgefield, Washington, about 20 miles outside of Portland, on Friday, July 4, when a 911 caller reported seeing a man floating face-down in the river around 2:44 p.m. just north of the Ridgefield Marina.

“Ridgefield Police responded along with Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue and confirmed a single adult male was face-down in the water with no apparent signs of life,” a spokesperson for the Clark County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a press release Friday. “The Clark County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and the body was recovered from the water by Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue.”

Price was pronounced deceased at the scene.

According to the initial press release, no signs of foul play or trauma were observed by first responders at the scene. The cause and manner of Price’s death are still pending, according to the medical examiner’s office.

A sailboat was discovered anchored a few hundred yards north of where Price’s body was recovered. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Unit was dispatched to the vessel, recovering items that investigators believe belonged to the man.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit is conducting an ongoing investigation into Price’s death.