BRETT MICHAEL OLSON-20 yo- (Deceased) Lafayette CA

Brett Olson: Search Widens For Missing Cal Poly SLO Student

09/07/2012

Friends and family of a missing California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo
student have started a major search and social media campaign in an
attempt to track down the young man.

Brett Michael Olson, a 20-year-old from Lafayette, Calif.,
was last seen Sunday afternoon while participating in a Labor Day
weekend celebratory float down the Sacramento River near California
State University, Chico.

A Facebook group called “Let’s Bring Brett home,"
created Tuesday evening, had nearly 65,000 members as of Thursday night
and has been used for everything from organizing search efforts to
sharing stories and supportive messages.

According to a post on the group by Michael Conrad Bissell, a
University of Oregon student and a high school classmate of Olson’s who
was with him on Sunday, some of the last people to see Olson at the
float may have been a group of University of California, Los Los Angeles
students. Bissell said that they all got off their inner tubes at an
area known as Beer Can Beach and that Olson had disappeared soon after
they exited the river.

Members of the group have taken to Twitter as well, using the hashtag
#FindBrettOlson in order to spread the word. The message has so far
received support from celebrity Twitter users including Olympian Kerri
Walsh-Jennings and television personality Howie Mandel.
http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/09/brett-olson-search-widens-missing-cal-poly-slo-student

Body was identified by parents, Sunday morning.
Monday, Sep 10, 2012

A body of missing Lafayette man Brett Michael Olson was found this morning in the Sacramento River near the Butte-Glenn county line.

The student's parents were able to identify the body as that of their son, reports the Mercury News.

Glenn County sheriff's deputies located the body after a weeklong search that was launched when Olson disappeared at an event on the river on Sept. 2, Butte County Sheriff Sgt. Steve Collins said today.

The body was reportedly found just upsteram of a washout, by people fishing from the bank.

Olson, who studied at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, had joined thousands of other college students in a float down the river that takes place annually around the beginning of the school year.

A search began on Monday that involved the Butte County Sheriff's Office, Glenn County Sheriff's Department, California Department Fish and Game, California State Parks, aerial units, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and local search-and rescue volunteers.

A memorial is planned on Tuesday for Olson, according to friends and family.

A message posted to the Facebook page attributed to Brett's parents, Michael and Liz Olson, thanked the many people who helped look for him.

"You filled us with hope and love this week which we will carry with us for the res of our lives," the statement read.

The candlelight vigil and memorial event is expected to take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, according to friends and organizers

Bay City News contributed to this article.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Body-Found-Believed-to-Be-Missing-Lafayette-Man-Brett-Michael-Olson-169109226.html