FORKS — The body of Benjamin Roldan Salinas, a West End man who was missing since May 14, was found today in the Sol Duc River east of Sappho, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed tonight.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Brian King said a resident reported seeing the body floating in the river about 8:30 a.m. near U.S. Highway 101 between Mileposts 208 and 209 — about four miles downstream from where he fled from a Border Patrol traffic stop last month.
A multi-agency swift boat rescue team extracted the body from a root wad at about 2 p.m.
According to a May 16 Border Patrol statement, a traffic stop on U.S. 101 was initiated by a U.S. Forest Service officer who requested translation assistance from the Border Patrol for two people inside a vehicle.
Roldan Salinas reportedly bolted when he saw the Border Patrol and jumped into the river.