Search for body in water yields no discovery

Multiple agencies responded to a false report Saturday about a body in the water underneath the Deception Pass bridge.

A single caller reported seeing a body in the water at Deception Pass at 6:08 p.m.

North Whidbey Fire and Rescue had two boats in the water at 6:25 p.m. and searched for about an hour and half, according to Chief John Clark.

Clark said the Coast Guard and Washington State Parks also had boats searching the water for the reported body.

Mt. Erie Fire Department sent spotters. Island County Sheriff’s Office also responded, but did not have a boat in the water, Clark said.

The caller reported the person was closer to Lottie Bay. Clark said the shorelines of the bay were searched, but no body was found.

Initially there were fewer water-related calls than normal at the start of the summer because COVID-19 closed the parks, Clark said. Now that the parks have reopened, however, he said the number of water-related calls have returned to their usual volume.

“It’s pretty typical to what we normally have in the summer when people are out boating and with crab season people are out there crabbing,” Clark said.