Body found in Columbia River ID’d as Vancouver woman

The woman whose body was found in the Columbia River on Sunday morning has been identified as a Vancouver woman.

Leslie J. Poulson, 40, died of accidental drowning, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The body was discovered around 8:30 a.m. about 50 feet from the shore of the river in the 14700 block of Southeast Rivershore Drive, east of Interstate 205, according to police.

Vancouver police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said that Poulson was reported as a missing person on Thursday. Poulson, her boyfriend and two other people were at the beach in that area having a bonfire on July 29, Kapp said. Her boyfriend left to get firewood and he returned to find that everyone had gone, she said.

Vancouver police also were dispatched to the area for a complaint of a bonfire, but arrived and found nothing, Kapp said.

When her boyfriend hadn’t seen or heard from Poulson by the next day, he called police to report her missing, Kapp said.