Bodies of 2 men found in a vehicle in the Nooksack River in Whatcom County
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Two bodies have been recovered inside a vehicle from the Nooksack River near Ferndale on Tuesday, May 18. The Ferndale Police Department is investigating, according to a Facebook post.
The vehicle was found and retrieved from the river adjacent to Ferndale Road, according to the post made at 12:18 p.m.
Both bodies were adult males, city spokesperson Riley Sweeney told The Bellingham Herald in an email, but no other information about their identities was provided while their families are being notified.
“The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available,” the Facebook post read.
At this point, there is no information to suggest the incident is anything more than a traffic incident, Sweeney reported, but the Washington State Patrol will be doing a full investigation. But neither man had any obvious signs of trauma and both appeared to have drowned, according to Sweeney.
Tuesday’s Facebook post went on to thank Whatcom County Fire District 7, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Border Patrol and the Washington State Patrol for their assistance in the investigation and with retrieving the vehicle from the water.
An earlier post by the city of Ferndale Facebook account made at 8:36 a.m. said Ferndale Road was closed due to “police activity” and included a map showing the road from Cherry Street to Ulrich Road.
Police first received a report about a vehicle in the river at approximately 7 p.m. Monday night, according to Sweeney, after a passerby noticed skid marks from Ferndale Road leading into the river.
The marks appeared to head east on Cherry Street, and then appeared to show the vehicle that left them failed to make the right turn onto Ferndale Street, Sweeney reported.
Police responded to the area and found the car in the river, according to Sweeney, who added it was determined that due to the swift river conditions and approaching darkness, it determined best to wait until morning to retrieve the car. The car was retrieved shortly before noon Tuesday.
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
