KALAMA, WA — Authorities say the body of a missing St. Helens man was found Sunday on Weyerhaeuser land near Kalama River Road in Cowlitz County. The discovery brought an end to the search for Brent Erickson, who had been missing since early August.
Investigators said Erickson’s vehicle was found about a half-mile from his body. The location was in Weyerhaeuser’s St. Helens Tree Farm, a large timber property that stretches across a wide rural area near the Columbia River.
The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office said the death remains under investigation. The county coroner performed an autopsy, but authorities have not released a cause of death.
How searchers narrowed in on the Kalama River Road area
The search for Erickson covered more than 600 miles of roads in the St. Helens Tree Farm, along with K-9 units, aerial drones and additional resources. Deputies and the Cowlitz County Search and Rescue team took part in the effort after Erickson disappeared.
Authorities said Erickson was last known to be at a home on Kalama River Road on Aug. 5, but he never arrived. That detail helped focus the later search effort on the Kalama area and the surrounding timber land.
When the vehicle was located, the search team continued working the area until the body was found. Officials did not say how long Erickson may have been in the woods before he was discovered.
What authorities said about Erickson and his disappearance
Brent Erickson was in his 30s and lived in St. Helens, Oregon, according to Cowlitz County Chief Criminal Deputy Jordan Spencer. Authorities suspected he was driving a blue 2005 Ford F-150 when he went missing.
The vehicle had been found before the body was recovered, but officials had not confirmed Erickson’s location until Sunday. The sheriff’s office has not said whether foul play is suspected.
Because the case is still active, investigators have released only limited details about what happened between Erickson’s last known contact and the recovery in the tree farm.
A vast timber property with roads, drones and search crews
Weyerhaeuser’s St. Helens Tree Farm is a broad working forest where logging roads can stretch for long distances through remote terrain. That made the search especially difficult, according to officials involved in the effort.
Deputies said the first major search after Erickson vanished included ground crews and air support. The mix of methods reflected how hard it was to search a property that spans hundreds of miles of roads.
Searchers eventually focused on the area near Kalama River Road, where the body and vehicle were later found. Authorities did not provide a map of the exact recovery site.
Coroner's autopsy follows the recovery on Sunday
The Cowlitz County coroner’s office performed an autopsy after the body was recovered. Officials have not announced the findings from that examination.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation remains open. That means detectives and the coroner are still working to determine the circumstances of Erickson’s death.
No additional information about time of death, injuries or any contributing factors was released with the recovery announcement.
What is known and what investigators have not yet said
At this point, authorities have confirmed Erickson’s body was found in rural Cowlitz County after a days-long search, and that his vehicle was nearby. They also confirmed the man had been missing since Aug. 5.
Investigators have not said what caused his death, whether anyone else was involved, or whether there are any criminal leads. The case is being handled as an active investigation.
For now, the clearest facts are the recovery itself, the location on Weyerhaeuser land near Kalama River Road, and the large search effort that led to the discovery.
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