PEND OREILLE COUNTY, Wash. — The Pend Oreille Sheriff’s Office located a body near the location of a missing Tibetan monk on the Buddhist Abbey property Wednesday afternoon.
On Jan. 3 around 2:30 p.m., Pend Oreille deputies received a call from the Sravasti Abbey stating that a resident saw a body floating in a pond at 692 Country Lane.
On Nov. 8, 64-year-old Dadul Namgyal who was a monk on the Buddhist Abbey property was reported missing. He allegedly went on a walk around the 300-acre property and never returned.
Namgyal recently joined Buddhist Abbey and became its first male resident teacher. He has been a monk in the Tibetan tradition for more than 40 years and has had a big impact on the monk community.
As investigators arrived on scene they located a body partially submerged in the water. The clothing on the body was consistent with what Namgyal was last seen wearing.
Residents of the Abby stated that this pond had been frozen over with ice but recently thawed. Investigators used a canoe to retrieve the body out of the water.
An extensive search for the 64-year-old monk lasted a week with multiple agencies unable to locate him.
The body has been sent to the coroner to determine the estimated time of death and cause. They will also release the identity of the body at a later date.
Information will be released by the Coroner once the autopsy results are in. Any new information or leads on this case can be forwarded to Investigator Travis Stigall at The Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office at (509)447-3151.
