BRINNON — A retired electrician who had moved to Brinnon about a year and a half ago was identified as having died Thursday after falling from a personal watercraft.
The body of Richard La Rue, 64, was spotted face down in the water 50 feet offshore of 2150 Black Point Road just after 1 p.m. Thursday.
A caller told 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers that he heard a man yelling from the water.
When first responders from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Brinnon Fire Rescue arrived, they found La Rue dead, said Arthur Frank, chief criminal investigator for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
La Rue and his fiancee, Lis Houchen, moved to Brinnon in February 2016, Houchen said Saturday. La Rue, a retired electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, had moved from Edmonds, while Houchen relocated from Olympia.
“He was a big presence. He just loved everybody,” Houchen said. “He would go the extra mile to help somebody.”
Before he climbed onto the jet ski, he had helped a friend unload materials for a project, Houchen said.
La Rue had been riding a Polaris personal watercraft, similar to a jet ski, when he fell off, Frank said.
Thursday was the first time he had ridden the jet ski, Houchen said.
His 65th birthday would have been next week.
“He loved his Harley and was a founding member of the Brinnon chapter of Old Coots on Scoots,” Houchen said.
“He loved his family. … He loved his water. … He grew up in Federal Way and never lived out of state.
“He loved living here and he loved living in Brinnon.”
The cause of death will be determined by an autopsy, Frank said.
A neighbor of the couple, Rhonda Lorenzen, described La Rue as “a really neat guy, just so full of life.”
La Rue was found wearing a wetsuit but not a life jacket, and witness testimony indicated that La Rue had struggled to swim back to his personal watercraft after he fell off in rough water, Frank said.
Lorenzen said the wetsuit La Rue wore contained a flotation device.
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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at lleach@peninsuladailynews.com.
Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
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