Body found under Magnolia Bridge identified as missing Seattle man

For almost two weeks, Tony Pella's family, friends and co-workers scoured the city for some sign of the 22-year-old. When Pella was reported missing after a night of partying with his father, fliers were posted in restaurants and calls were placed to hospital emergency rooms. His family was in the midst of preparing a Crime Stoppers announcement Thursday when they heard from a Seattle police detective that Pella's body was found.

Police say Port of Seattle workers found Pella's body underneath the Magnolia Bridge, near Smith Cove Park. A police spokeswoman said it appeared his body had been there about a week.

Pella's aunt, Suzie Smith, said authorities told the family he had died of head and neck trauma, but there has been no determination whether foul play was involved. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said the case is under investigation.

"You could not know this child without loving him," Smith said. "There were no strangers. He was such a giving, loving and great child. He's every mother's dream of a child."

Pella, a 2003 graduate of Ballard High School, was an only child. Since graduating, he had worked in construction. He had been at Archer Construction, in Kent, as a pipe layer since February 2006.

"He was a good kid. He was very smart," said Allyson Gregersen, who co-owns Archer Construction. "He was very reliable; he was always there."

Pella was last seen during a night out May 5 with his father at Ozzie's Bar and Grill on Lower Queen Anne. He and his father had rented a hotel room a few blocks away and walked to the bar to celebrate the elder Pella's impending departure for a three-month work assignment in Alaska.

Tony Pella got on the wrong side of a bouncer by shaking the awning near the bar entrance, said his father, Jeff Pella. Barred from re-entering the club, he was heading down the street when his father last saw him, shortly after midnight.

The young man never showed up at the hotel, where his car was parked.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com