Man found dead in Sinclair Inlet waters was from Port Orchard

By Bob Smith • February 10, 2017 1:30 am
A helicopter crew from the U.S. Coast Guard searches the Ross Point area of Sinclair Inlet for a boater reported missing Feb. 7. South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Port Orchard Police and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office personnel also aided in the search. A body was later found in waters near the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. It hasn’t yet been confirmed the body was connected to the vessel found aground at Ross Point that was found empty, but with its motor running. — Photo by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue
A helicopter crew from the U.S. Coast Guard searches the Ross Point area of Sinclair Inlet for a boater reported missing Feb. 7. South Kitsap Fire and Rescue, Port Orchard Police and Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office personnel also aided in the search. A body was later found in waters near the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. It hasn’t yet been confirmed the body was connected to the vessel found aground at Ross Point that was found empty, but with its motor running. — Photo by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue

PORT ORCHARD — The body of a man found in Sinclair Inlet waters near the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Cliff’s Cycle Feb. 7 has been identified, according to the Kitsap County coroner’s office.

The office said Russell M. Nilson, 65, of Port Orchard died of accidental drowning in Sinclair Inlet. Port Orchard police are still determining whether Nilson had been aboard a 40-foot vessel that was found around near Ross Point earlier that morning.

Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Scott Wilson said the red and white boat was found by authorities around 10:47 a.m. after a 911 call was phoned in. Then later in the afternoon, Nilson’s body, suspected to be the boat’s operator, was discovered by law enforcement just off the north shore of Sinclair Inlet.

The sheriff’s office was assisting Port Orchard Police in the investigation. When the boat was found by deputies, they boarded it to find the motor running and no one inside. Wilson said it was apparent that someone had recently been aboard.

A 40-foot boat was towed to Suldan’s Boat Works in Port Orchard after it was found aground with its engine running and no one aboard. The suspected boat pilot was found dead on the north shore of Sinclair Inlet this morning. Photo by Robert Zollna

A 40-foot boat was towed to Suldan’s Boat Works in Port Orchard after it was found aground with its engine running and no one aboard. The suspected boat pilot was found dead on the north shore of Sinclair Inlet this morning. Photo by Robert Zollna