Deputies have recovered the body of Charles “Bill” Wiley, 40, 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, 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 in St. Helens, Ore. He was working on a platform underneath the midpoint 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.
