Family hopes body found in Snohomish River is missing son

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Unless you were looking for it, witnesses say the body found lying in the Snohomish River Sunday afternoon was almost impossible to see.

Shane Gochenhauer, a Snohomish local, spotted the body floating face-down, caught on a snag of branches.

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

Gochenhauer was taking a walk with Rachel Ford, a friend, along the part of the river where people typically launch tubes and rafts.

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

Gochenhauer and Ford said the body they saw was fully clothed and appeared to be badly decomposed.

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

Ford's description matches what a missing 28-year-old man was reportedly wearing when he was last seen on May 24, 2015.

Brandon Perecz disappeared after jumping into the Snohomish River while fleeing police, his family said.

According to the family, Perecz had an outstanding warrant against him.

They said that when he jumped into the river in Sultan, 15 miles from where the body was found Sunday, there was no immediate search.

Gochenhauer and Ford found the body near the 14100 block of Short School Road at about 5 p.m. Sunday. According to the Seattle Times, It took the sheriff's office roughly three hours to confirm it was a body.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner will release a positive identification after examining the body.

Cox Media Group