Texas native identified as Franklin County drowning victim

Jacob M. Cook set out for an adventure of sorts when he left his hometown of San Antonio for a cross-country road trip to the Pacific Northwest.

It was early February, and the 21-year-old was looking forward to spreading his wings in a foreign town, said Dawn Cook, his mother.

Jacob visited a grandparent in Oregon before making his way to the Tri-Cities, where he decided to settle down close by his aunt and uncle, who live in Kennewick.

The avid surfer, who spent time growing up on the beaches of San Diego, got a job at a local IHOP and found his own place to live.

However, Jacob soon lost the restaurant job and struggled to make rent, his mother said. With few options and far away from most of his family, Jacob checked into the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission in Pasco.

Records from the Mission show Jacob checked into the shelter May 22 and left the 26th.

“Then we lost him,” Dawn said. “We have been looking for him since the end of May.”

Ten days later, on June 6, authorities pulled the body of a man from the Columbia River downstream from the cable bridge. The man was wearing Adidas basketball shorts, boxers and socks.

The body was so badly decomposed that Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel couldn’t even initially determine an ethnicity.

Blasdel estimated the body had been in the water anywhere from two weeks to a month. An autopsy revealed no trauma, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning.

Blasdel was eventually able to determine the man was Caucasian and had a unique red and black tattoo on his shoulder.

The coroner sent a picture of the tattoo out to the media and checked surrounding areas for missing person cases. A state anthropologist was called in to try and help identify the body through DNA and dental records.

However, potential tips led investigators nowhere, and no one came forward to claim the body. The remains were cremated and stored at a local funeral home.

“In 20 years, this is only the second John Doe that I have had that I was not able to identify,” Blasdel told the Herald in a recent interview about the case. “It’s unusual for the area.”

Meanwhile, back in San Antonio, Dawn had not heard from her son since he left her a message close to Mother’s Day saying he lost his phone. Calls went unanswered and posts on Jacob’s Facebook page stopped.

Family called Tri-City police departments and checked hospitals in search of Jacob, Dawn said. No missing persons report was ever filed.

As the days turned to weeks and then into months, the fear that something terrible had happened to Jacob grew inside of Dawn.

“You have hope that today is the day he is going to call, that maybe I am going to find him,” she said. “You think, ‘What if something happened to him? Could he be living on streets?’ There’s a sense of being powerless and unable to protect my child.”

Early last week, family in Kennewick spotted media reports about the unidentified body, which was one of at least 146 statewide.

Dawn was able to get in touch with Blasdel, who sent her a picture of the distinct tattoo.

“I knew right then it was him,” said Dawn, who had seen the tattoo after Jacob recently got it.

Blasdel asked for dental records from Dawn in order to confirm the body was Cook. The records matched, and Blasdel announced Tuesday that the mystery of the case had been solved.

“It helps the family put it to rest,” Blasdel said shortly after making the announcement. “(Dawn) texted me and said ‘thank you for bringing my son home.’ ”

It’s unclear how Jacob got into the river, though Blasdel noted it was hot around the time of the death and it’s possible Jacob could have gone under while swimming. There have been 12 bodies recovered from rivers in Benton and Franklin counties this summer.

Relatives have already picked up Jacob’s ashes and are on their way to San Diego for a memorial service Thursday at Tourmaline Surf Park, one of Jacob’s favorite spots to catch waves.

Dawn remembers her son as an adventurous kid who loved soccer and animals, and was on the way to finding himself in life, she said. She told the Herald the identification has helped bring a sense of closure to her and family members.

The family plans to release Jacob’s ashes into the Pacific Ocean.

“We are going to give him a surfers farewell,” Dawn said. “We are going to paddle out on surfboards and let Jacob surf for ever.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Texas native identified as Franklin County drowning victim."