Police have ruled out foul play in the death of Robert Hall, a 31-year-old man whose body was found in a retention pool on Oct. 9 in Redmond.
Hall was discovered by a woman who was walking her dog on the Bear Creek Trail and spotted a deceased body in a nearby retention pond on that morning.
A member of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, who was later on scene, identified the badly decomposed body as that of an adult male, according to Becky Range, Redmond Police Department (RPD), public information officer.
The medical examiner’s office released Hall’s identity on Thursday.
According to an RPD press release issued on Monday, Hall’s family had reported him missing on Sept. 15. The release continues, stating that detectives confirmed that there were no visible signs of trauma. Redmond police has an “extensive history of interactions with Hall and (they) do not believe the death was a result of foul play,” the release states.
The woman who discovered Hall’s body called 911 at about 8:30 a.m. from the pond, which is located at Northeast Leary Way and 159th Place Northeast.
“She says she walks that area quite a bit and has never seen anything suspicious,” said Range, adding that the woman inched close to the pond to look for birds and a saw a form floating in the water. The witness thought it was a dead animal, but feared it was a human body, Range said.
When RPD arrived, officers smelled a pungent odor and determined it was a human body.
The King County Sheriff’s Office Marine Rescue Unit arrived on scene at about 10:20 a.m. to assist RPD with the body recovery, and Redmond Fire Department (RFD) crews assisted, as well.
The member of the medical examiner’s office — who arrived at about 11 a.m. — determined that violence wasn’t the cause of death, and crews figured the body had been in the pond for several weeks or a month, Range said. She added that the pond is located in a secluded area with trees and foliage, and since leaves had dropped off the trees this time of year, visibility is more clear.
An RPD Twitter statement read that there were no safety issues for the public and police taped off the area. After bringing the body out of the water and onto one of the trails, RFD members hosed off the area. The body was then transported to the medical examiner’s office.
Detectives are investigating the incident and will work with the medical examiner’s office after the body is identified. They are also checking missing person’s reports.
