Family mourns 'bittersweet' discovery

For months, searchers combed the depths and shores of the Mississippi River's back channel, hoping to turn up any sign of Robert More.

But nearly seven months after claiming the Red Wing man, the river gave him up Sunday morning, Pierce County sheriff's investigator Douglas Ducklow said.

Hunters walking through the area discovered the body near the center of an island three-quarters of a mile from the Back Channel bridge, he said.

Authorities now say More, 52, was on his houseboat docked at Mr. Sippi's Bar -- just upriver from the Back Channel bridge -- when he went overboard.

"The water there was so high, so fast and so cold," his father, Duane More, said Tuesday.

A Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office determined no foul play was suspected.

Employees and patrons at Mr. Sippi's expressed relief for More's family that the body was recovered.

Ducklow agreed.

"It gives the family some closure and that's what we were striving for," he said.

Robert More was reported missing March 28. His parents were notified while they were in Alaska caring for another son who was dying at the time.

Duane More said in June that the family had hoped to be able to bury both sons together.

Duane More and his wife came to Wisconsin this week to speak with authorities after the discovery.

"It seems it's kind of a bittersweet thing," Duane More said.

Ducklow said law enforcement had not previously searched the island where More's body was found. It appeared the body had been there "quite a while" and only became visible as the river level receded, Ducklow said.

Authorities confirmed the body's identity through dental records and a Minnesota driver's license found in More's clothes.

Goodhue County water patrol assisted on the scene Sunday.

Tags: missing man, river, family mourns, news