Bellevue Man Dies at Snoqualmie Falls

A 56-year-old Bellevue man was found dead Sunday afternoon at the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls. His death has been ruled a suicide.

The man, identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office as Kelly Wood, had been missing for three days, according to his wife, who contacted Bellevue Police early Sunday afternoon.

“She called us around 1 and said the last time she’d seen him was on (December) 13th,” said Officer Carla Iafrate, spokeswoman for the Bellevue Police Department. “They had a brief argument, and he said he was going to go for a drive. There was nothing unusual.”

Bellevue police attempted to locate the man’s cellphone, and got a “ping” from Snoqualmie Falls on Sunday, so they contacted Snoqualmie Police for assistance. Snoqualmie Police received a call from Snoqualmie Falls security indicating that Wood’s car had been found in the parking lot at about 2 p.m. Sunday.

Snoqualmie Police combed the area, and one officer discovered what appeared to be a body at the bottom of the falls, 280 feet down, Iafrate said.

King County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue was called to retrieve the body, and just before 9 p.m., Snoqualmie Police called Bellevue Police with a positive identification.

“We were advised that the body recovered from the river was, in fact, that of our missing person,” Iafrate said.

The Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday said Wood died of blunt-force trauma and ruled his death a suicide.