By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A Silver Creek area man who went missing yesterday was found dead last night inside his wrecked truck twenty to thirty feet down an embankment not far from his home.
Paul L. Halstead, 63, had left home yesterday morning and by afternoon, his family and deputies were looking for him because he hadn’t returned, according to responders.
His family found his Ford Ranger pickup on its top off of state Route 122, about two miles northwest of Mossyrock, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Troopers and aid responded to the scene just west of Steelhead Drive about 8 p.m., Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mike Cournyer said.
Cournyer said he believes the crash occurred in the morning.
It had rained, so there weren’t tire marks on the road and the vehicle was such that a person wouldn’t have seen it unless they were in exactly the right spot, Cournyer said.
Troopers concluded Halstead was westbound from Steelhead Drive and drifted to the right, and then overcorrected causing his truck to leave the roadway, roll down the embankment and come to rest on its top. He was seat belted in, responders said.
Cournyer said it’s a narrow and curvy road and the cause of the crash seemed to be inattention, but the coroner should be able to determine for sure what happened.
The 2007 Ford Ranger was described as totaled.