Douglas County press release on Orondo death investigation

On July 14, 2026, at approximately 1:47 p.m., Douglas County Deputies were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle complaint in the area of Stinar Road and Rivendell Road in Orondo, WA. The reporting party advised that a vehicle was parked near several rental properties and expressed concern that it may have been stolen.

Deputies located the vehicle and determined it was abandoned. During the investigation, deputies learned the vehicle was associated with John Morrison, who had been reported missing out of Grant County. Grant County Detectives responded to the scene and, working jointly with Douglas County Deputies, conducted an aerial search of the surrounding terrain using a drone. No sign of Morrison was located. The vehicle was later released to Morrison’s family.

On July 15, 2026, Douglas County Deputies continued searching the area using drones, again with no success. Through coordination with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, an additional search was conducted later that day using their helicopter. During the flight, the crew observed a person lying in steep terrain several hundred feet below the location where Morrison’s vehicle had been found. The individual appeared to be deceased and was situated in an extremely inaccessible area. Due to the time of day, no hoist-capable aircraft from surrounding agencies were able to respond for recovery operations.

On July 16, 2026, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit responded and successfully extracted the remains from the location. The remains, believed to be those of John Morrison, were transferred to the care of the Douglas County Coroner’s Office for autopsy and formal identification.