Recovery of Oregon Teen's Body Ends Four Days of Searching

The Sheriff's Office told relatives they would continue the search operations until Zacharey was brought home to the family.

The teen was recovered three to four miles up river from the Wheatland Ferry, shown here

(DALLAS, Ore.) - The body of a local teenager missing since Tuesday and presumed to have drowned in the Willamette River, was found this morning at approximately 8:20 AM.

Polk County Sheriff's Office Spokesman Dean Bender says their Marine Patrol Unit was notified by a citizen that a body was floating in the river about three to four miles up river from Wheatland Ferry.

This is an area that is approximately seven and a half miles down river from Wallace Marine Park in West Salem.

The citizen who found Zacharey's body, Kelly Gilmore, said he was floating down river in his boat towards the Wheatland Ferry when he came across the body floating in the main channel of the river.

When deputies arrived on scene, the body was up against the east bank on the Polk County side of the Willamette.

Bender says the body was recovered by the Sheriff's Office and later identified as 16-year old Zacharey Harle, who went missing on Tuesday night at around 7:00 PM.

Zacharey Harle's remains were transported back to Wallace Marine Park where he was turned over to Howell-Edwards Mortuary.

The Sheriff's Office has been conducting daily search operations looking for Zacharey since he went missing on Tuesday. The Sheriff's Office told his relatives that they would continue the search operations until Zacharey was brought home to the family.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office as well as many other agencies assisted in the search. They included the Linn County Sheriff's Office Dive Team, Newberg Fire Rescue Dive Team, Salem Fire & Rescue Unit, the Polk County Search and Rescue Team, the Marion County Search and Rescue Dog Team, as well as numerous concerned citizens using boats and aircraft to help aid in the search operations.