A Benton County woman whose body was found in the Columbia River drowned, County Coroner Rick Corson said Tuesday.
The tentative cause of death of Julianne Elizabeth Keel, 25, is freshwater or cold-water drowning, Corson said. A final determination will be made after results are back from tissue analysis and toxicology tests, he said, which could take 8 to 12 weeks.
An autopsy completed Tuesday afternoon also showed Keel was 51/2 months pregnant with a girl, Corson said.
Keel had been missing since early May and presumed drowned after she and her boyfriend, Bradley Jason Novak Jr. set out on a canoe trip from Hover Park in east Kennewick.
The couple were reported missing May 6.
Keel's body was recovered on the Washington side of the Columbia River across from Hat Rock Park in Oregon. Corson said she had been in the water for at least seven to 10 days.
Novak, 27, was found in the river near Wallula on May 16. The Walla Walla County coroner said Novak drowned and estimated his date of death as May 2.
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