3rd UPDATE: DOT employee presumed dead in plunge off Hood Canal Bridge; search to continue Wednesday

Possible location on lower Hood Canal Bridge deck where vehicle went into water

Possible location on lower Hood Canal Bridge deck where vehicle went into water

SHINE — A search for a state worker presumed dead after a vehicle plunged off the Hood Canal Bridge on state Highway 104 is expected to continue today after an unsuccessful search Tuesday.

Cranes and other heavy equipment were expected to arrive on-site late that night, Trooper Russ Winger, State Patrol spokesman, said Tuesday.

The person is thought to be a missing state Department of Transportation employee.

Acting Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar said in an email to Department of Transportation employees that there were indications that a Department of Transportation bridge maintenance technician’s personal vehicle had breached a pedestrian cable railing on the lower deck of the Hood Canal Bridge while leaving his work shift Monday evening.

The person is not being identified “out of respect for our colleague’s family . . . until proper notifications occur,” Millar said.

“We all know our jobs involve potential danger,” he wrote.

“It’s heartbreaking when that danger becomes a reality and, in an instant, changes lives forever.”

Recovery operation

Winger has referred to the search as a recovery rather than a rescue operation.

“We have found a few possible targets using sonar and an unmanned submersible, but we haven’t gotten a target location,” Winger said.

As of late Tuesday, no sign of the vehicle had been reported.

The search began at about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday after reports of a car going off the side of the floating bridge.

The water in that area is 350 to 400 feet deep, he said.

The missing employee was the last person on the bridge crew to depart on Monday evening, and a welfare check at his home showed he did not return home that night, according to Petty Officer George Degner, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman in Seattle.

Normal traffic

Vehicle traffic was proceeding normally on Tuesday, Winger said, while marine traffic had been suspended.

The State Patrol, Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue, boat crews from the Seattle Coast Guard base and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from

Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles were on-site Tuesday searching the water in the Hood Canal.

Also present were representatives of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Navy.

_________

Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.

Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Poplars to be removed in spring

Boat Yard expansion part of larger project

Jeffco Aquatic Coalition launches pool survey

Results intended to inform design process

A snow-covered Mount Angeles is seen from Black Diamond Road a few miles south of Port Angeles. While the Peninsula has seen temperatures below freezing this week, a warming trend is expected by this weekend with highs reaching the upper 40s and overnight lows in the 30s. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Winter snowscape

A snow-covered Mount Angeles is seen from Black Diamond Road a few… Continue reading

JoAnn declares bankruptcy; Port Angeles store to close

The Joann fabrics and crafts store in Port Angeles… Continue reading

Cheri Sanford of Port Angeles, right, hands a piece of metal debris to her grandson, Damien Millet, 9, after it was located with a metal detector and dug from the sand at Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles on Wednesday. They were combing the beach in search of whatever hidden treasures they could find. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Beach combing

Cheri Sanford of Port Angeles, right, hands a piece of metal debris… Continue reading

Six Peninsula school measures passing

Sequim voters approve bond, levy

Port Townsend, Chimacum pass school levies

Funds will support facilities, supplies, transportation

Counties can collect up to $1.80 of property tax per $1,000 of assessed value, but they are only allowed to increase their property tax collection amount by 1 percent each year, excluding new construction, without voter approval.
Clallam already eyeing 2026 cuts

If county can’t raise revenue, it may cut employees, services

Port Angeles School Board to conduct community conversation

Port Angeles School Board members will be available to… Continue reading

After-school art program returns to Stevens Middle School

Let’s Make Art, a free after-school program at Stevens… Continue reading

Department of Licensing offices to be closed

PORT ANGELES – The Department of Licensing office of the Clallam County… Continue reading

Voters approving all Peninsula school measures

Sequim bond passing with required supermajority