Worker's body recovered after Lewis and Clark Bridge fall
LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Deputies have recovered the body of Charles "Bill" Wiley, four weeks after he fell while doing maintenance work on the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Columbia River.
Charlie Rosensweig of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office said Wiley's body was discovered on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, across from Willow Grove.
His death has been considered an accident. The official cause will be determined by the Columbia County Medical Examiner's office.
The 40-year-old was working on a platform underneath the mid-point of the bridge when another worker saw him fall about 200 feet into the river on Oct. 7.
Investigators do not know how or why Wiley's safety equipment did not prevent his fall.
I wonder if he yelled "canon ball" on the way down.
 @Beergod That is the most disrespectful thing anyone could say. His little boy who is 8 can read and they read all this . His wife broke down just knowing someone could say something so mean.
That would place the body around river mile 58 roughly here http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=46.16649,-123.09636&z=15&t=TÂ The bridge is at RM 66, so he drifted 8 miles toward the ocean.
Glad they found him and now his family will have closure.
It's easy....he didn't have it on. It's already been stated that he unhooked himself to assist another worker. I have to wear fall protection quite frequently for my job, I know a thing or 2 about how it works. It NEVER works if it's not in use.
And we will never now either.......about his safety harness and lanyard not saving him.....
@Glenn Pierce Nope. It has already been reported that he had unhooked it.There were eyewitnesses.
 @Mechanic  @Glenn From what I understand, you do not have to be tied off while working on the deck. The deck is several meters wide and long. Only during egress would you be required to be tied off.