Body of Buena Vista Man Recovered from Willamette River

Anyone having information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective John Williams or Sgt. Kevin Haynes at the Polk County Sheriff's Office; 503-623-9251.

Photos: Dexter Phoenix, Video: Jerry Freeman Salem-News.com

(INDEPENDENCE, Ore.) - A body was pulled from the Willamette River at Buena Vista Saturday afternoon. Officials say the deceased man was later identified as 63-year old Marvin Leonard Studer, a resident of the Buena Vista area.

Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies got the call around 2:30 p.m. and responded to the reported sighting of a body floating in the Willamette River. Buena Vista is an unincorporated area of Polk County south of Independence, Oregon.

The deputies were assisted by Polk County Fire and the Salem Fire Department water rescue boat team.

Less than an hour after receiving the call, at 3:24 p.m. fire units located and confirmed the presence of a dead body, later identified as that of Mr. Studer, approximately one quarter mile downstream, or north, of the Polk County side of the Buena Vista Ferry landing.

This is one of two sites on the Willamette River in the central valley where motorists can drive their cars onto a cable guided ferry boat and save a few miles driving the interstate freeway.

The body of Marvin Studer was recovered by authorities at approximately 4:40 p.m. with the assistance of a boat operated by the Benton County Sheriff's Office marine patrol unit.

Mr. Studer had last been seen by family members September 9, 2011 at his home, a short walking distance from the Willamette.

Relatives told investigators that it was not uncommon for Marvin Studer to spend time along the river.

While cause of death and the reason for Studer being in the water have yet to be determined, Sgt. Kevin Haynes with the Polk County Sheriff's Office says there was no indication of foul play at the scene, and he says the investigation by the Polk County Sheriff's Office will continue. Anyone having information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective John Williams or Sgt. Kevin Haynes at the Polk County Sheriff's Office; 503-623-9251.

Editor's note: We mistakenly identify the boat that retrieved the body of Mr. Studer as belonging to Polk County, when in fact the vessel is a Benton County Sheriff's Office boat. We apologize for this error.

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience in broadcast and Internet news. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with the U.S. Army and Marines. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim is a member of the Orange County Press Club in Southern California. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com