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A retired Washington state detective who survived being shot in the line of duty in 2023 was found dead in a Montana lake on Tuesday after going missing in a boating incident days earlier, authorities said.
The King County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital that David Easterly, 67, died following Saturday’s boating incident.
“Our thoughts are with Detective Easterly’s family and all who served with him during his 25-year career with King County,” the agency said in a statement. “We thank the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (MT) for their compassion and service during this time.”
Easterly’s body was recovered from Flathead Lake on Tuesday afternoon, three days after he jumped into the water from a boat and disappeared, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
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David Easterly retired from the King County Sheriff’s Office shortly after the shooting. He served at the agency for 25 years. In this photo, Easterly is speaking before being released from the hospital in May 2023. (King County Sheriff’s Office)
Easterly’s body was taken to the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, and the Lake County Coroner’s Office is investigating the cause and manner of death.
In March 2023, Easterly was shot twice while serving an eviction notice with two other deputies at an apartment building in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. The bullets went around his protective vest, striking him once in his left chest area and once on his left side.
The 29-year-old tenant was found dead in the residence following the shooting. The Medical Examiner’s Office says the death was suicide by gunshot.
Easterly narrowly survived the shooting, undergoing multiple surgeries and months of recovery.
David Easterly narrowly survived the shooting in 2023 and took months to recover. In this photo, Easterly is seen being wheeled through a hospital before his release in May 2023. (King County Sheriff’s Office)
He had told KOMO News that he believed he was going to die after being shot.
“I thought I was gonna die, I really did. I was going in and out,” he said, telling his partner to tell his family that he loved them.
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Easterly spoke at a press conference when he was released from the hospital in May 2023.
“I’m not going to make it without crying,” Easterly said. “Most of the blood that flows through me right now doesn’t even belong to me. It belongs to the people who were generous enough, brave enough to give me that blood.”
Easterly decided to retire shortly after the shooting.
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“No, that’s it, I’m done. That’s it. I’m a little too old for this game,” Easterly told the outlet.
