Duty Death: Michael M. Molzahn - [Battle Ground]
By Dave Kern
The Vancouver Columbian
VANCOUVER — The man who drowned Sunday afternoon in the Columbia River has been identified as Battle Ground, Wash., police Officer Michael M. Molzahn, 41, of Battle Ground.
“He was really liked in the community. A terrific motor officer,” Chief Robert Richardson said Monday. “Everybody in Battle Ground knew Mike.”
Authorities said Molzahn jumped from a boat in the Columbia River off Government Island and struggled against the current and the cold.
Those in the boat could not reach him, and later a person on a personal water craft reached him and took him to the island.
A Portland fireboat took Molzahn to Vancouver’s Steamboat Landing, where efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The accident happened about 5:30 p.m.
He was hired by the Battle Ground Police Department in March 2000 after serving for at least two years as a reserve office, said Lt. Roy Butler.
He was a detective for four years and had served four years as a motor officer on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
He had prior law enforcement experience in California, Butler said.
“He always rode the bike, even when it rained,” the chief said.
He leaves a wife, an 18-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter.
Copyright 2011 Spokane Spokesman-Review