Kitsap County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the remains of an adult male recovered from Rich Passage on July 5.
A 12:45 p.m. call to 911, from recreational boaters in the vicinity of the confluence of Port Orchard Bay and Rich Passage, reported seeing a body floating in the water off of NE Enetai Beach Road, according to Deputy Scott Wilson, KCSO spokesman.
A Port Orchard police patrol boat arrived on scene just after 1 p.m. and confirmed the 911 report. The body was recovered and taken to a dock at Illahee Road NE.
“Someone in a bayliner discovered the body about 200 yards from the shore,” said Port Orchard Police Chief Geoffrey Marti. “Our boat responded and we brought the body to shore.”
The remains were turned over into the custody of the Kitsap County Coroner’s Office.
Wilson said it’s believed that the remains are possibly those of Thomas Craig Vogt, 51, reported missing by his family June 20.
Vogt was last seen at his mother’s home. His truck was found Saturday morning at Pat Carey Vista Park on the shoreline of the Port Washington Narrows, a channel running through Bremerton that connects Dyes Inlet with Sinclair Inlet.
A three-day search was conducted June 21-24 on Sinclair Inlet and adjacent waters, after a report of a floating body. A person on a yacht reported a body in the water about 6:15 p.m. June 21, while sailing near the Port Orchard Marina. The person tried to retrieve the body, but it sank underwater.
The KCSO’s marine patrol and search and rescue units (diving and ground search), along with marine patrol elements from Port Orchard
and Bainbridge Island police, and aviation and patrol units of the U. S. Coast Guard, participated in the search.
Wilson said an autopsy of the recovered remains, conducted by the county’s forensic pathologist, is scheduled. The coroner will make positive identification of the remains and also will make a determination as to cause and manner of death.
Rich Passage separates Bainbridge Island from the Manchester area of Kitsap County. The Seattle-Bremerton ferry, part of the Washington State Ferries, travels the length of passage on its route.
