Update, Thursday at 9:17 p.m. PT: The body of actress Misty Upham has been transferred to the King County Medical Examiner’s office in Washington state for positive identification, after a nearly five-hour recovery operation. Upham’s manager confirmed to TheWrap that the body found was hers.
A police statement on Facebook said:
“Because a purse containing identification of Misty Upham was at the scene the body is presumed to be that of Upham. The Auburn Police Department states that there is no initial evidence or information to indicate foul play; however the Medical Examiner will make the final determination.”
The police statement said Upham’s body was found by a person in the search party organized by her family at about 1 pm on Thursday. The police found her body “approximately 150 feet down a steep embankment near the river heavily covered in brush. It took a 10-person crew to recover the body from the steep and wooded area,” according to the statement.
Previously
A body believed to be that of actress Misty Upham was discovered Thursday afternoon in Auburn, Washington, according to the Auburn Police Department.
The “August: Osage County” actress was reported missing by her family on Oct. 6. A three-person search party, including one family member, found Upham’s purse and ID 10 days later near the White River. They discovered a body nearby, at the bottom of a 150-foot embankment and called 911. An official identification of the remains has not yet been made.
The police posted this photo of the search:
See photos: Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2014
Upham, 32, was last seen leaving her sister’s apartment on Oct. 5, on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation, 16 miles east of Tacoma.
Police had responded to a call of a possible suicide at the apartment, but Upham was gone by the time officers arrived, according to Auburn police commander Steve Stocker. Upham’s parents told police she had been taking medication for mental health issues, Stocker said. She was listed missing a day later in the Washington Crime Information Center database.
Also read: ‘August: Osage County’ Actress Misty Upham’s Father Pleads for Public’s Help in Finding Her
The Native American actress, a Blackfoot, played housekeeper Johnna Monevata in “August: Osage County” and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best supporting female for “Frozen River.” She also appeared with Benicio del Toro in last year’s “Jimmy P.”
Below is the official statement that the Auburn Police Department posted on its Facebook page Thursday evening, after the remains were recovered.
It took nearly five hours for the Auburn Police Department and the Valley Regional Fire Authority crews to recover the body of a deceased person from a wooded area near the White River in Auburn. The body was discovered near Forest Ridge Dr. and has now been turned over the King County Medical Examiner for positive identification and a determination of cause of death.
Because a purse containing identification of Misty Upham was at the scene the body is presumed to be that of Upham. The Auburn Police Department states that there is no initial evidence or information to indicate foul play; however the Medical Examiner will make the final determination.
The body was discovered by a person related to a search party that had been assembled by the Upham family that was in the area searching for her at about 1 p.m. this afternoon.
The Auburn Police Department found the body approximately 150 feet down a steep embankment near the river heavily covered in brush. It took a 10-person crew to recover the body from the steep and wooded area.
The medical examiner is expected to release their findings in the next few days.
Upham was reported missing by her family on Oct. 6 and the Auburn Police Department had been investigating her disappearance.