Body found near Columbia is missing Yakama woman

YAKIMA — A Yakama Nation woman missing since her Wapato apartment burned Nov. 14 has been found dead in Klickitat County, authorities said Tuesday.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call Saturday morning reporting that a car was over the bank of State Route 14 near milepost 105, Sheriff Bob Songer said Tuesday.

Deputies found the vehicle door open and no one inside, he said. His office sent planes overhead to try to find the driver. Hours later, they found a body at the bottom of a cliff along the Columbia River, several hundred yards from the car, he said.

The Klickitat County coroner confirmed Wednesday it was the body of Rachel Norris, 38, who had been missing since her Wapato apartment burned in mid-November.

When the fire began, residents were sleeping and Norris barely escaped, relatives said previously. Relatives said she was clearly shaken up by the event, and no one had heard from her since. Authorities are investigating her death and said Wednesday the preliminary autopsy results don’t indicate foul play.