Missing Mount Vernon man in Sliver Alert found dead on remote service road

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The Mount Vernon Police Department said an 84-year-old man who was the subject of a Silver Alert has been found dead along a utility service road in Skagit County.

Ralph Tinsley was diagnosed with dementia and left his Mount Vernon home on Oct. 16 in a white, 2000 Saturn SL1 passenger car.

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On Tuesday, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office received a report from employees of the State Department of Natural Resources of a possibly deceased person lying in the area of a vehicle on a utility service road, north of the 26000 block of Walker Valley Road.

The area is remote, and typically only accessed by utility and DNR employees.

When deputies arrived, they found a white senior-aged man laying near a damaged vehicle, identified as the Saturn SL1 associated with Tinsley in the Silver Alert.

Detectives found more evidence at the scene that led them to believe the victim was Tinsley.  As a result, detectives notified his family.

The body was  turned over to the Skagit County Coroner’s Office, which will determine the cause of death.

Detectives are asking anyone who may have seen the vehicle on the service road over the last week to contact the Mount Vernon Police Department at (360) 336-6271.