Divers continue search for body

Divers continued Tuesday to search part of Lake Washington near Kirkland for a Tri-City native who apparently drowned there last week.

Larry Stephenson, 27, was spotted about 100 feet from shore late Jan. 26 and witnesses reported hearing his cries for help, authorities said.

Stephenson, who lived in Des Moines with his wife Dolly, is the son of well-known Tri-City attorney Larry Stephenson.

Kirkland police Investigations Lt. Mike Ursino said he expects the King County Sheriff's Office marine unit to do a final dive Thursday with sonar equipment to try to locate Stephenson.

Tuesday, divers checked under docks near downtown Kirkland, and spent three days in the water last week searching for Stephenson. They also had a search and rescue dog out Jan. 30, which tracked Stephenson's scent from his car to the end of the dock where police found most of his belongings, Ursino said.

Investigators can't confirm that Stephenson drowned until they find a body, but the dog's track "increases the chances that he's in the water," Ursino said.

If Thursday's dive fails to find anything, Ursino said they may take some search dogs out in boats on the lake as a final option.

"We don't understand why he would just go in the water and go for a swim when it's 32 degrees out," Ursino said.

When officers responded to the call just after 8 p.m., they found Stephenson's belongings laid out in an orderly fashion at the end of the dock. A lot of money was found in his wallet, so Ursino said they know he wasn't robbed and shoved off the dock.

Stephenson was by himself and "got into the water of his own accord," he said.

Stephenson graduated from Pasco High in 1999 and Washington State University in 2003.