Body discovered in Elk near missing man's car

November 30, 2012

Spokane County Sheriff’s authorities have located a body near the vehicle of an elderly man missing since Nov. 23 on Blanchard Creek Road in a remote part of the Elk area.
Samuel H. Counts, 71, a former Elk resident, disappeared from Spokane Valley while driving to the grocery store. Counts suffers from dementia.
Airborne search crews located his car, a 2012 KIA sedan, northwest of Mount Spokane in a heavily wooded area late Friday afternoon. A short time later a body was discovered a quarter-mile from the car.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner will not release the name of the body until the next of kin can be notified.