Tourist Vanished at Snoqualmie Falls — Three Years Later, His Body Revealed the Truth

For millions of visitors, Snoqualmie Falls is one of Washington State’s postcard-perfect attractions: an 82-meter cascade roaring into the river below, wrapped in mist and rainbows. But for the family of photographer Josh Milner, the falls became a monument to uncertainty, fear, and grief. What began as a simple day trip in August 2020 turned into a three-year mystery—one that would end with the unearthing of a murder hidden beneath the rocks.

A Passion for the Forgotten

Milner, 28, wasn’t just another tourist with a camera. He was a Seattle-based explorer and creator of Lost Waters, a blog dedicated to photographing hidden waterfalls, abandoned hydroelectric stations, and forgotten industrial ruins. He sought the quiet, eerie beauty where nature reclaimed steel and stone.

On August 16, 2020, Milner texted a friend: “Heading to Snoqualmie, want to photograph one of the lower waterfalls that isn’t on the maps. Should be back by evening.” That was the last anyone heard from him.

When he failed to return after several days, concern grew. On August 21, officers located his locked Subaru in the main viewing area parking lot. Nearby, searchers found his camera bag with a cracked lens—an ominous clue suggesting a fall or struggle. Yet Milner himself, along with his camera and phone, had vanished.

A Massive but Fruitless Search

The King County Sheriff’s Office launched one of the largest search operations in local memory. Hundreds of rescuers combed ravines, forests, and moss-slick cliffs. Dogs traced his scent to a pile of boulders by the river’s edge, then lost it. Divers braved near-zero visibility in turbulent waters. Helicopters scanned the canopy with thermal cameras, finding nothing.

After nearly three weeks, the search was called off. The prevailing theory was that Milner had slipped, drowned, and become lodged in an unreachable part of the river. For his grieving family, it was a cruel but plausible explanation.

A Storm Uncovers a Secret

Three years later, in September 2023, fierce autumn storms battered Washington. Flooding rivers and landslides reshaped Snoqualmie’s cliffs. When the rain cleared, climbers inspecting fresh rockfalls discovered something horrific: wedged deep in a new crevice lay a decayed body wearing a green hiking jacket.

Recovery crews worked 12 hours to free the remains. Immediately, suspicions shifted. The hands were bound with nylon cord, and the skull bore the unmistakable fracture of a fatal blow. This was no accident.

From Disappearance to Homicide

Forensic tests confirmed the identity: Josh Milner. DNA matched his parents, and dental records left no doubt. The nylon binding was traced to the drawstring cord of his own camera bag. And chemical analysis of his jacket revealed industrial solvents—benzene and ammonia—pointing to time spent in a warehouse or lab before death.

The breakthrough came with a small object found zipped in his jacket pocket: a white magnetic key card marked simply 101. Investigators scoured archives and discovered a long-decommissioned technical warehouse—number 101—hidden a mile and a half from the old dam, in exactly the sort of forgotten corner Milner had loved to explore.

When detectives swiped the card at the warehouse door, the electronic lock clicked open. Inside was not an abandoned utility shed but an active drug storage site, littered with solvent cans, packaging, and traces of cocaine.

Milner had not drowned. He had stumbled onto a drug operation.

A Suspect Emerges

Investigators soon focused on Rick Thompson, 35, a local man with a record and ties to small-scale gangs. His father had once worked at the dam, possibly giving him knowledge of the hidden warehouse. Surveillance of Thompson’s trailer began, while detectives re-examined every scrap of the 2020 case.

One overlooked clue proved decisive: a pawned SD card Milner had sold days before his trip. In 2023, advanced =” recovery retrieved deleted images. Among them were shots of warehouse interiors—and one blurred photo capturing Thompson’s face glaring at the camera.

With evidence in hand, police arrested Thompson. At first he denied everything. Then detectives placed the recovered photo before him. The defiance drained away.

The Confession

Thompson admitted what happened. Milner had wandered into the warehouse with his camera, snapping pictures before Thompson noticed. Panicking, Thompson struck him with a metal pipe, intending only to silence him, but the blow proved fatal.

Terrified of reprisals from his suppliers, Thompson bound the body, hid it in his truck, and under cover of darkness dumped it into a rocky crevice below the falls. Believing the river or the stones would keep it hidden forever, he destroyed the camera and main memory card. What he didn’t know was that Milner had sold an older card days earlier—one that would later expose the crime.

Rick Thompson was convicted of premeditated murder committed to conceal criminal activity. He received life in prison without parole.

For Milner’s family, the discovery brought heartbreak but also resolution. They cremated his remains and scattered the ashes in the Cascades, where he had once found beauty in forgotten places. His mother founded the Lost Waters Foundation, supporting independent photographers and solo adventurers, with a focus on safety education.

The case of the “vanished tourist” at Snoqualmie Falls ended not as a tragic accident, but as a chilling reminder of how passion for exploration can collide with the hidden dangers of human darkness.

And it was only through chance—a storm and a landslide—that the truth finally surfaced.