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Body found in Snohomish River identified as a woman

“I knew right away it was a dead body,” Rachel Ford said. "That was somebody's family member."

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — A decomposed body found snagged in a Snohomish River logjam is a woman, the Snohomish County medical examiner said Monday.

The body was found Sunday evening and reported to the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office by passersby. [Click here for more details.]

Snohomish locals Shane Gochenhauer and Rachel Ford spotted the body while they were on a walk at about 5 p.m.

"I looked down at the river and I saw something that just didn't look right," Gochenhauer said.

Gochenhauer and Ford said they were walking along the part of the river where people typically launch tubes and rafts.

"I knew right away it was a dead body," Ford said. "That was somebody's family member."

Gochenhauer and Ford said that when they found the the body, it was fully clothed but highly decayed.

“There was a dark top on, like a rain coat of some sort,” Ford said.

Gochenhauer and Ford's account matched the last known description of Brandon Perecz, a missing 28-year-old man.

Perecz was reported missing after fleeing from police and diving into the Snohomish River in Sultan, about 15 miles from where the body was found.

Perecz's family said there was no immediate search following Perecz’s disappearance.

Gochenhauer and Ford found the body near the 14100 block of Short School Road. According to the Seattle Times, It took the Sheriff's Office roughly three hours to confirm it was a body.

The coroner is still working to determine identification and cause of death and will release additional information as it becomes available.