Body of Victoria man who fell from cliff recovered in Oregon
The body of a Greater Victoria man who fell from a 250-metre cliff in Oregon has been recovered.
Joe Lescene, 51, and his wife, Sarah Jones Lescene, were near a cliff known as the Devil’s Cauldron in Oswald West State Park on Sept. 10 when Lescene lost his footing and fell into the water below.
Oregon State Police said they received a report Tuesday morning that a man’s body had washed up on a beach in the park and confirmed it was Lescene.
Lescene had a long career in the military and was working as a civilian hull technician for the Department of National Defence at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt.
On Tuesday, his co-workers and friends gathered to play a memorial hockey game at the base’s Wurtele Arena, said friend Brad White.
Lescene’s wife, daughters Ofelia and Sofia, and identical twin, Frank, were in the stands and were presented with banners bearing Lescene’s hockey number.
White met Lescene in 1990 when the two were in the military and stationed on HMCS Provider.
“I still remember the first day he walked across the gangway, and after meeting him, I knew he’d be a lifelong friend,” he said.
Some colleagues joked that certain tasks took Lescene twice as long because he would stop to talk with people along the way.
Lescene had a friendly energy and sense of humour that turned colleagues into fast friends, White said. “I don’t think he had an enemy in the world.”
A few years ago, Lescene left the Canadian Forces to take a civilian job in the Fleet Maintenance Facility.
An online fundraiser for Lescene’s family has raised almost $20,000. Maritime Forces Pacific said it is supporting the family.