Body found on Whidbey beach ID’d as Arlington man

COUPEVILLE — A body that washed ashore on Whidbey Island in December has been identified as that of a Arlington man missing since October.

Edwin “Randy” Brown, 47, was last seen Oct. 9 at Haller Park in Arlington. Dental records were used to confirm his identity, Island County Coroner Robert Bishop said.

“It was a drowning,” Bishop said. “There is nothing suspicious in this case. There is no evidence of trauma to him.”

Brown likely died in the Stillaguamish River, but the exact circumstances are unclear. An autopsy revealed the body was in fresh water for several weeks. Flooding in December probably moved it out of the river and into Puget Sound, Bishop said.

“He was not in the sound more than a day or two,” Bishop said.

A man walking his dog near Greenbank, on the east side of Whidbey Island, found the body Dec. 14.

The coroner’s office worked with the family to retrieve dental records and the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Unidentified Person’s Unit to make the match.

“We knew he was a good possibility early on,” Bishop said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.