Body of California Tsunami Victim Found in Oregon

The body of a man swept away by the tsunami waves that hit California following the March 11 Japanese earthquake has been found, officials said Tuesday.

Dustin Douglas Weber was swept to sea along with two friends who survived. According to news reports, the three had been taking photographs near the mouth of the Klamath River in northern California, just south of Crescent City, when the tsunami waves struck the U.S. west coast.

Weber's body was found some 440 miles north in the northernmost part of neighboring Oregon State, near the mouth of the Columbia River.

"It was found by some passersby on the Oregon coast beach," said Eugene Gray of the western US state's Medical Examiner's Office, adding that dental records had helped identify him.

The 25-year-old's body was found on April 2 near Astoria on the Oregon coast, said Gray, adding that the cause of death would be listed as drowning and the body would be returned to the family.

Waves of eight feet (2.4 meters) crashed ashore on the California coast up to 12 hours after the 9.0-magnitude quake that killed more than 13,000 people in Japan, left over 14,500 missing, and triggered a major nuclear crisis.

According to the Associated Press debris from Japan will begin washing ashore along the west coast of the United States in the next one to three years.

"The floating debris will likely be carried by currents off of Japan toward Washington, Oregon and California before turning toward Hawaii and back again toward Asia, circulating in what is known as the North Pacific Gyre," the AP reported.

"Fishing vessels or items that poke out of the water and are more likely influenced by wind may show up in a year, while items like lumber pieces, survey stakes and household items may take two to three years."