Portland - The body of a young man swept out to sea in California by a surge from Japan's tsunami last month has washed up on the Oregon coast, 480km away, authorities said on Tuesday.
The body of 25-year-old Dustin Douglas Weber was found on April 2 by someone walking on the beach near Warrenton, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River.
“The body had been in the water for several weeks,” said Dr Christoper Young, Oregon's deputy state medical examiner.
Young said dental records were used to identify the body because significant decomposition had occurred. The official cause of death was listed as drowning.
“The only unusual thing about this is the distance, where the body was found. In a case like this, a body is usually found pretty close to where they entered the water,” he said.
Weber was swept out to sea on March 11, the day a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan and triggered a massive tsunami that crossed the Pacific.
Weber, who was born in Oregon and had recently moved to California, had been taking photographs of the tsunami waves near the mouth of the Klamath River when he was swept away. - Reuters