Body discovered in truck parked at road end

Shortly before noon today multiple police and fire units descended on the E. Lee Street road end to investigate a report that there was a man lying in the back seat of a black Chevy Silverado truck, apparently deceased.  The discovery was a shock to many of us living in the area, who had been passing by the vehicle for days without investigating.  The truck was parked almost at the very end of E. Lee Street, just past 42nd Avenue E. and directly south of the Reed Estate.

Neighbors believe that the truck had been sitting there since at least July 1, prior to the Independence Day weekend.  For this reason, the body could not have been in very good condition when discovered, reportedly by a cable technician who had parked his truck near the deceased's vehicle.

Seattle Police confirmed to us that a body had been discovered and that the King County Medical Examiner would be undertaking a autopsy.  It does not appear that there was any foul play involved.  A neighbor who spoke to police officers at the scene learned from them that the body was apparently that of the truck owner, a young man in his 30s who lived somewhere outside of Seattle.  It is believed that he had not been reported missing.

The passenger-side window of the vehicle was partially open, as shown in the upper photo.  In defense of the neighbors who had not noticed anything amiss, however, it should be noted that the truck was parked directly next to a major sewer pumping station, which can at times be somewhat odiferous (it's located downstairs behind the white iron fence in the photo above).  Additionally, the body was not upright in the back seat but lying prone, as if the man had been sleeping there and simply never woke up.

The Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that an autopsy will be performed on Tuesday morning, with the results available later in the day.

[Lower photo by J. Waltz.  Middle photo of the E. Lee Street road end from GoogleEarth. The upper photo of the vehicle, by an anonymous neighbor, was taken days before the body was discovered.]