ARLINGTON — An Arlington fisherman who’d been missing since Dec. 3 was found dead the following day in Pilchuck Creek.

The 81-year-old man was reported overdue by his wife at 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 3, after he’d left their Arlington residence at 8:30 a.m. that day to fish the creek on his property. When he did not return home, his wife called 911 for assistance and received a response from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division and Air Operations, as well as both the Volunteer and Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.

Lt. Rodney Rochon, commander of the Sheriff’s Office Marine Services Unit, estimated that a majority of the roughly 75 responders came from civilian volunteer units and searched until 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 4 with no results. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Technical Water Rescue Team joined the search when it resumed at daybreak on Dec. 4, and the missing man was located by the Sheriff’s Office SNOHAWK 1 helicopter at 10:40 a.m. that day.

The Technical Water Rescue Team and Volunteer Search and Rescue personnel recovered the man’s body from approximately two feet of water, and the body was released to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death. As of press time, the victim’s name was not yet released, pending notification of next of kin.

The man was described as an avid fisherman who was familiar with the area, but he was facing cold weather, with air temperatures in the low 30s and a water temperature of 37 degrees.