SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Medical Examiner has confirmed the identity and cause of death of a man who was found in the Spokane River near Downriver Drive in Spokane on Sept. 21, 2021.
He was identified as 33-year-old David A. Ellis and his cause of death was drowning caused by toxic effects after the consumption of methamphetamine and alcohol. The manner of death was ruled as accidental.
Spokane police initially responded to a 911 call from someone fishing in the Spokane River, near the Downriver Golf Course, who located the body. Spokane police Spokesperson Julie Humphreys said the body was that of a white man in his 30s and it didn't appear that he had been in the water very long. Major Crimes detectives were investigating the man's death.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office’s Dive Team was called to the area to help because the Spokane County Sheriff’s Dive Team was in a training Tuesday afternoon. The Spokane Fire Department was also called to the scene to help bring the man’s body up a steep embankment.
