Found Deceased OR - Michael Watts, 37, Portland, 1 May 2021

[dub]

I wonder if there is any water along his route? Leaving nightclub, going the wrong way, IMO says drunk/drugs, telling his gf he was being chased could be paranoia from a bad trip! I get the feeling this is another young man in the water
Moo

There is a huge river 3 blocks and across a park to the east (the direction he is least likely to have gone) from the bar, but no water along either the route back to the hotel or any route to the possible salmon st location.

ETA: if in fact he did go to the salmon st location (which for the moment I believe he did) the river is much further away from there than it is from the bar. It’s like 3/4 of a mile from there.

 

[kelsie]

i personally think he's been gone too long for a good outcome to be had unfortunately

also, a man can have a female fiancee and still be/live as a queer man

 

[TheRaven]

Weird. I haven’t spent much time in downtown Portland in recent years but it is pretty safe overall, but the area around CC Slaughters is one of the ones where you’re somewhat more likely to find trouble. More so if the “wrong direction” he was going (assuming he was still close to the bar) was some combination of north and/or east.

Ive bumbled around old town wasted many times and never had problems, but I wouldn’t want to end up at the train station or under the burnside bridge in the middle of the night.

But even then, people don’t disappear off the face of the earth around there, more like they get robbed or occasionally stabbed.

Also downtown Portland is pretty hard to get lost in if you have even a basic familiarity with the area (which I’m guessing he did), because there are so many obvious points of reference.

This is a pretty strange one.

I live in Portland and totally agree with everything you said!

 

[annpats]

...if in fact he did go to the salmon st location (which for the moment I believe he did) the river is much further away from there than it is from the bar. It’s like 3/4 of a mile from there.

Well, 3/4 of a mile is only about a 20 min walk maximum. So, it's possible.

 

[dub]

Well, 3/4 of a mile is only about a 20 min walk maximum. So, it's possible.

For sure, anything is possible.

The distance honestly doesn't make much difference to me, whether he's 3 blocks or 3/4 of a mile away. I cannot emphasize enough how close to impossible it would be for a local to accidentally end up in the river in that area, regardless of how far away from it they started.

To get to the edge of the river, one would have to cross through a park that's like 100 yards wide and somehow not notice it at all. Everybody there knows the river is immediately beyond the park. You'd have to be out of your mind to a level that I can't even fathom, and I can fathom a pretty high level. There's also a heavy metal chest-high fence at the end of the park blocking off the river that a 5'9" man would not go over if he ran into it, even if he ran into it at a full sprint.

That being said, the fact that he disappeared period from the area that he did and hasn't been found in a week and a half is similarly unbelievable. And the possibility also exists that if he backtracked toward the river he then tried to cross one of the bridges, which, while still extremely unlikely, is about 10,000x more likely to result in ending up in the river than the accidental park scenario.

Every option in this case seems so improbable that I think there's a decent chance that he IS in the river, but almost that entire chance consists of the bridge scenario, suicide, and the possibility that someone put him there.

 

[CHEL]

His sister posted on the Find Freddy Hollywood (Michael Watts) Facebook page that his remains have been located.

 

[GraceG]

For sure, anything is possible.

The distance honestly doesn't make much difference to me, whether he's 3 blocks or 3/4 of a mile away. I cannot emphasize enough how close to impossible it would be for a local to accidentally end up in the river in that area, regardless of how far away from it they started.

To get to the edge of the river, one would have to cross through a park that's like 100 yards wide and somehow not notice it at all. Everybody there knows the river is immediately beyond the park. You'd have to be out of your mind to a level that I can't even fathom, and I can fathom a pretty high level. There's also a heavy metal chest-high fence at the end of the park blocking off the river that a 5'9" man would not go over if he ran into it, even if he ran into it at a full sprint.

That being said, the fact that he disappeared period from the area that he did and hasn't been found in a week and a half is similarly unbelievable. And the possibility also exists that if he backtracked toward the river he then tried to cross one of the bridges, which, while still extremely unlikely, is about 10,000x more likely to result in ending up in the river than the accidental park scenario.

Every option in this case seems so improbable that I think there's a decent chance that he IS in the river, but almost that entire chance consists of the bridge scenario, suicide, and the possibility that someone put him there.

My Mom was a law enforcement officer in the Portland area for 18 years. You'd be surprised how many people inadvertently end up in the river and drown. I'm praying this is not the case for Michael.

 

[NervousNellie]

What strange details surrounding his disappearance. I hope his family gets answers.

 

[dub]

My Mom was a law enforcement officer in the Portland area for 18 years. You'd be surprised how many people inadvertently end up in the river and drown. I'm praying this is not the case for Michael.

I’m not talking about the greater Portland area, I’m talking about a like two mile stretch of river on the west side that MW was basically right in the middle of.

There are countless places in Portland where people can inadvertently end up in the river, including on the east side directly across the river from where MW was, so I probably wouldn’t be surprised. But people going in directly from waterfront park? Yes, that would surprise me.

 

[JMapes]

Missing Eugene man found dead in Willamette River in Portland | KOIN.com

A missing Eugene man last seen in Portland on May 1 was found dead Tuesday in the Willamette River, police said.

More at link.

This is such a sad outcome. As others have stated, the chances of him ending up in the river from the area of town he was last seen was very slim. MOO.

Condolences to his family, friends and fiancé. May all avenues be pursued to bring clarity to this tragedy.

 

[JMapes]

A little more information here:

Body of Michael Watts recovered from Willamette River in Portland | kgw.com

In a news release, PPB said river patrol deputies with the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office recovered the body from the Willamette River on Tuesday.

The police bureau said the cause and manner of death are still being determined.

 

[CptCari]

Portland is as you describe to an extent, but it’s always had a weird racist, extremist undercurrent as well. I grew up there, and while it was rare to see any signs of it, even as a kid I was very much aware of it.

Most of those people don’t actually live in Portland (at least nowadays), they are mostly in the outer burbs and in Salem, but it definitely bleeds into the city.

Interesting. I've never experienced this or heard of this in Portland.

 

[CptCari]

I wonder if there is any water along his route? Leaving nightclub, going the wrong way, IMO says drunk/drugs, telling his gf he was being chased could be paranoia from a bad trip! I get the feeling this is another young man in the water
Moo

Sadly, you called it.

 

[dub]

Something weird is going on.

On the FB page, there is now mention from one of the main guys posting about a piece of information that turned out to be not correct, but as far as I can tell it doesn't specify what that information was.

I noticed though that the description of the disappearance at some point was updated and no longer mentions CC Slaughters, so maybe he was never actually there? It also could be the Salmon St location was wrong, because I can't find mention of that either now, but I also can't recall where exactly on the FB page that was.

It also says the last time he was physically seen was at his hotel, at 9:30 pm half an hour before the phone call. I'm not sure if it's always said that and I missed it, or if that was an update.

Another thing I found there is a POSSIBLE location of where the phone was found: On Burnside, somewhere between 3rd and 6th--most likely closer to 6th. This is close to CC Slaughter's (6th and Burnside is six blocks away, 3rd is three blocks away), so it is NOT consistent with him leaving the bar, walking, and then being on a 30min phone call before dropping the phone.

This, IF TRUE, is interesting because, at least to me, it means that the Salmon St info was almost definitely wrong, and the CC Slaughters info might be too. But if previous information is being called into question, I'd take the phone location with a big grain of salt.

 

[dub]

Also, I don't know how the currents in the Willamette work beyond it flowing south to north, but for what it's worth, I feel like the location where he was found is more consistent with him going into the water near the steel bridge or (less likely) burnside bridge, which are both close to CC's, than near the hawthorne bridge, which is the one closest to his hotel and the (possibly false) Salmon St location.

If he went into the water from the river's edge, if it was near the hawthorne bridge I think it's unlikely he'd make it as far as the fremont, although it certainly is possible. (Although if he went off the hawthorne bridge itself in the middle of the river he could make it that far very easily.)

ETA: Also I want to correct a mistake I realized I made yesterday. If by some miracle someone failed to notice the presence of the park, it IS possible to enter the river by accident south of the hawthorne bridge. I thought the area where the fencing stopped and the layout of the park changed was quite a bit further south than that. But it is also a place where, if you entered the water by mistake, it would be easy to get back out.

 

[PommyMommy]

Michael's body was found near the Fremont Bridge.

MAY 13, 2021
Missing Man Found Deceased, Cause of Death Under Investigation (portlandoregon.gov)
[...]

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, Multnomah County Sheriff's Office River Patrol deputies recovered a body from the Willamette River, near the Fremont Bridge. ...

The cause and manner of death are not yet determined. The investigation is continuing. ...

[...]

MAY 14, 2021
Body of missing Oregon man Michael Watts found in local river, death under investigation (nbcnews.com)
A man who went missing from downtown Portland, Oregon nearly two weeks ago has been found dead in the Willamette River near the Fremont Bridge, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) said Thursday.

[...]

Anyone who may have seen Michael Watts the night he went missing or has information about this case is asked to email missing@portlandoregon.gov.