Rescuers describe finding Matt Brown’s body in Okanogan River

Chay Wilkerson Moore said he quickly gathered a small team to search the Okanogan River for Matt Brown, including Brown’s girlfriend, Jaime, and his brother Noah Brown. They used whatever boats they could find — two kayaks from Walmart and a narrow fishing boat — and Moore said he felt too big to get into the fishing boat to help.

The searchers planned to cover both banks, drawing on local knowledge of the river. A female volunteer spotted a brown jacket bobbing in the murky water, and they found Matt’s body about 3.5 miles exactly from the entry point where he entered the water. A volunteer named Charlie located him and began praying.

Because the current threatened to carry the body downstream, the team loaded Matt into the boat rather than waiting for the sheriff, Moore said. They arranged an exit point where Noah and others met them; Moore recalled Noah in a surreal state of disbelief and Jamie overwhelmed with emotion while volunteers tried to comfort her.

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