Police identify bodies found Tuesday in a submerged car in the Nooksack River
Ferndale police have identified the two men whose bodies were found in a car that was retrieved from the Nooksack River on Tuesday, May 19.
The two men were identified as Landry L. Lawrence, 30, and Darrian J. James, 23, city of Ferndale spokesperson Riley Sweeney told The Bellingham Herald in an email Wednesday morning, May 19, adding that Lawrence was the driver of the car.
Both men lived on the Lummi Reservation in Whatcom County, Sweeney reported.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation Wednesday, Sweeney reported, and at this point, police have not located anybody who saw the car Lawrence and James were in crash into the river.
Police have narrowed the time of the crash to between 7:20 and 7:40 p.m. Monday, May 17, according to Sweeney.
There is no information to suggest the incident is anything more than a traffic incident, Sweeney reported Tuesday, but the Washington State Patrol will be doing a full investigation. Neither man had any obvious signs of trauma and both appeared to have drowned, according to Sweeney.
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 was best to wait until morning to retrieve the car. The car was retrieved shortly before noon Tuesday.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 10:34 AM.
