The body of a young French-Canadian man who’d gone missing earlier this month was recovered this afternoon from thick vegetation in the Arcata Marsh.
Twenty-five-year-old Felix Desautels-Poirier was last seen alive on the evening of Nov. 6, when he and friends went to sleep in the marsh, according to an email sent by his mother.
“They were drunk, they went to sleep, and in the morning, he wasn’t there anymore, but his phone, wallet and more importantly, his glasses were left behind,” she said in a Nov. 9 email.
Arcata Police officers walked the entire marsh searching for Desautels-Poirier, and drones were used to look from above, to no avail.
Desautels-Poirier’s father flew down with other family members about four days ago to help look for him, and according to Arcata Police Chief Tom Chapman, the father found his son’s body caught in the thick underbrush of Hauser Marsh shortly after 3:30 this afternoon, in the pouring rain.
Chapman said there is no indication of foul play, and the death appears to be an accidental drowning, though an autopsy will provide more definitive information.