The Benton County sheriff's office has positively identified the body that washed ashore on the banks of the Willamette River southeast of Monroe on Sunday.

Police say 37 year old William Christopher Griffith apparently drowned in the river Sunday after trying to elude police in Eugene.

Griffith was last seen entering the Willamette River at the boat landing near the Maure Jacobs bicycle bridge in Eugene.

He was apparently trying to elude authorities after an alleged shoplifting incident at Macy's in the Valley River Center in Eugene. Public safety authorities attempted to capture him from the river, but were unsuccessful.

Deer hunters found Griffith's body around 2 p.m. Sunday near Dodge Island Road in Benton County.