SEQUIM — The body of a 78-year-old man missing from his Agnew home since Monday morning was found Saturday afternoon at the south end of River Road.
A couple of nearby residents out for a walk found the body of Robert “Bob” Goss 10 feet from his SUV at the “bitter end” of the rural road three miles south of Sequim, said Clallam County Undersheriff Ron Peregrin.
“The family is very sad to see him go, and we miss him terribly,” said Goss’ sister and caretaker, Mary Ann Hudson.
Goss appeared to have been dead for most of the time he was missing and apparently died from natural causes, Peregrin said.
The discovery, which occurred on a private section of the road at about 3:50 p.m., ended a five-day search that involved the Coast Guard, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and several friends, family members and strangers who scoured back roads from Diamond Point to Port Angeles.
Ends five-day search
Hudson said the family can take comfort in knowing that no one harmed him and that so many people cared.
“This is the most wonderful town,” Hudson added, referring to the outpouring of support.
While foul play is not suspected, what caused Goss’ death is unclear.
“That would be hard for me to say,” Peregrin said. “He could have had a heart attack or died from hypothermia.”
An autopsy may be done, he said.
Peregrin said Goss, wearing a “pullover” shirt and pajamas, was not dressed appropriately for the weather.
The vehicle was not stuck, he said.
It also remains uncertain why Goss, who had dementia, left that morning and why he decided to drive down that road.
Hudson, 68, said he hadn’t driven for a year.
An urge to drive
It was perhaps an urge to drive or to buy some Coca-Cola, his favorite drink, that caused him to leave in her Grand Cherokee Laredo, she said.
Hudson said she suspects he drove to a nearby grocery store and, finding it closed, drove to Sequim and took a wrong turn.
“It was absolutely an out-of-character thing for him to do,” she said, adding that he was happy at her home.
“The only thing I can think of is he really wanted to drive the car one more time.”
Family members said Goss was raised in Arkansas and taught young servicemembers how to speak German.
He was a professor of German languages at San Bernardino State and worked in Silicon Valley in California writing technical manuals, said one of his sons, Thomas Goss of New Zealand.
Goss’s other children are Daniel and Erica, family members said.
He moved from the Sacramento area to live with his sister about two years ago.
Alert issued Tuesday
The Sheriff’s Office had issued a missing/endangered person alert Tuesday.
Detective Sgt. Lyman Moores had scoured the area where the family believed Goss might have gone — the triangle between Old Olympic Highway and U.S. Highway 101 from Agnew west — and deputies made extra patrols this week through the Agnew area and south along O’Brien Road.
The Sheriff’s Office brought in a plane from the state Emergency Management Division to search for the vehicle Friday, but poor weather kept it from flying, said Ron Cameron, chief criminal deputy with the Sheriff’s Office.
Hudson said two of her sons went up in a private plane Saturday to search over the Sequim-Dungeness area.
The Coast Guard made regular flyovers of the area during training flights last week.
Peregrin said it would have been impossible to spot the vehicle from the air because of heavy tree cover.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
