Port Ludlow man identified as Hood Canal Bridge worker who died in plunge into water

SHINE — A Hood Canal Bridge maintenance worker whose body was pulled from deep waters below the bridge Thursday morning was identified today by State Patrol as Bruce Hilton Cowing, 59, of Port Ludlow.

Searchers began searching for Cowing at 6 a.m. May 17 when he went missing after a work shift a day earlier.

Evidence at the scene indicated he drove his maroon 1993 Toyota pickup through a pedestrian barrier and off the bridge’s lower deck, entering the southbound side of the water, said State Patrol Detective Krista Hedstrom.

No one saw him go in. The missing section of barrier wasn’t discovered until the man’s wife called to ask where he was.

Cowing’s body and pickup truck were located by Global Diving and Salvage using sonar and an unmanned submersible rover on May 22 in 344 feet of water about 150 feet north of the floating span.

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