Swimmer, pedestrian who died in Key Peninsula accidents are identified

Two people who died in separate accidents on the Key Peninsula have been identified by the Pierce County Medical Examiner.

Colby Jake Pederson, 32, was killed while walking on Wright Bliss Road NW north of Vaughn on July 28, according to Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies. The accident happened near the intersection of 109th St Ct NW.

Joelle Alain Blos, 52, died July 30 while swimming in Carney Lake, near the 15900 block of Wright Bliss Road NW.

Pederson was struck by a car driven southbound on Wright Bliss road by a 63-year-old man . The car then went off the road and into the woods. The driver suffered minor injuries. He told deputies that the pedestrian jumped out in front of his vehicle and he couldn’t stop in time. Deputies did not observe any signs of intoxication.

Blos disappeared underwater in Carney Lake on Friday, July 29, while swimming with a 5-year-old grandson. An intensive search by Key Peninsula Fire and sheriff’s deputies was called off late that evening, but a body was found floating in the lake the next day. A sheriff’s dive team recovered the body, which was later identified.

PIerce County Sheriff’s spokesman Darren Moss said that multiple calls came in around 4:39 p.m. on Friday about the woman going missing on the lake.

“It was kind of confusing at first because we had a lot of callers, a lot of people were frantically looking for this woman,” Moss said. “She was swimming with her grandson who was on a raft or floaty of some sort. She went under and the little boy started yelling for help.”

Anne Nesbit, a spokesperson for Key Peninsula Fire, said Blos, who lived nearby, was in the habit of swimming in the lake every evening

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 4:02 PM.