Authorities have identified the body recovered from the Snoqualmie River on June 7, 2025, as 67-year-old Randy Burkel of Lake Tapps. He had been missing since May 13.
Burkel suffered from dementia and had previously been the subject of a Silver Alert. On May 13, the same day he was reported missing, his vehicle was found abandoned off Tokul Road SE in Snoqualmie.
King County and other search and rescue organizations conducted extensive searches in the area but were unable to locate him. At the time, it was considered possible that a passerby had picked him up.
On June 7, a paddleboarder reported seeing a body in the Snoqualmie River near Riverview Park in downtown Snoqualmie and contacted authorities. Officers from the Snoqualmie Police Department responded and secured the scene, calling in assistance from King County Search and Rescue and the King County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team. The recovery operation confirmed the presence of a deceased male.
The King County Medical Examiner listed the presumed cause of death as drowning, with the manner of death undetermined.
Comments
Today I happen to visit Carmichaels hardware in Snoqualmie and found out that they intend to close at the end of December 2025. What a loss for the Valley so difficult for small retail businesses to compete in this Amazon world that we live in I wish there was someway that you could energize the community to help support them more robustly as they’ve been part of the Snoqualmie Valley for so many many many years