North Coos Dispatch received a call Sunday morning, January 5th, from the Clausen Oysters farm off North Bay Road just before 9:30am, regarding a possible deceased person found in Haynes Inlet during the outgoing tide.
It was found that the safest access to the scene would require a boat after Coos County Sheriff’s Deputies met with the reporting party, and with the help of the Clausen Oysters staff, the Deputies were provided transportation to the scene utilizing one of their boats.
The Chief Deputy Medical Examiner was requested to respond to the scene after the body was recovered, and upon further investigation, the decedent was identified as Joseph C. Neill.
As reported by the Wild Coast Compass in December, Mr. Neill had been missing since December 15th, 2024, Mr. Neill’s phone could was traced to a parking area not far from the railroad bridge that traverses Coos Bay at Jordan Point, where a single set of foot prints were found from his vehicle heading towards the railroad bridge. Personal property items believed to be Mr. Neill’s were located on the railroad bridge, including a cell phone, his wife, Maria Neill’s business card, a camera, camera case and a hat.
Mr. Neill was located on the southern beach area of Haynes Inlet approximately 1.5 miles east of the railroad bridge, where the 72 year old North Bend resident had gone to take pictures of the King Tides occurring that Sunday morning.
