KNAPPA, Ore. -- The body of Ted Natt, the former publisher of the Daily News of Longview, Wash., who was missing after a solo helicopter ride, has been found in Oregon, authorities said Saturday.

Three bowhunters found the wreckage of Natt's helicopter near the Columbia River north of Knappa, a few miles east of Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River.

The hunters came across the downed Sweitzer 300 helicopter at about 7:20 a.m. Saturday near Gnat Creek, about six miles north of Knappa, said one of the hunters, Frank Valdez.

Valdez told KLOG in Portland that it appeared Natt's helicopter had struck two tall Douglas fir trees and fallen straight to the ground.

Natt, 58, disappeared Aug. 7 on a 60-mile flight from the coastal community of Oysterville to the airport at Kelso -- Longview's neighboring community -- where he kept his two-seat helicopter. There was no word Saturday on why Natt would have flown across the Columbia River.

The formal search -- over the Pacific coast, the Columbia and area woodlands -- was called off Aug. 16, after hundreds of flight hours and a ground search by scores of volunteers.

Family members were notified Saturday morning, and arrangements were being made for a memorial service, KLOG said.

Natt was publisher of The Daily News when Mount St. Helens erupted in May 1980. A year later, the paper won a Pulitzer Prize, journalism's most prestigious award, for its coverage.

In June, Westmedia Corp., a publishing group owned by the Natt family and employees of The Daily News, sold its holdings to Indiana-based Howard Publications Inc. The sale included the Longview newspaper and three local weekly newspapers.

Natt, who had been publisher since 1977, stepped down when the sale was completed.

Natt had more than 20 years' experience flying fixed-wing aircraft, but had earned a helicopter license only three months before the flight.

Natt had flown to Oysterville from Kelso for an afternoon memorial service for Willard Espy, a writer who died earlier this year in New York.

Later, Natt attended a dinner at the Oysterville home of Polly Friedlander, president of the Willard Espy Literary Foundation.

Natt's helicopter was equipped with an emergency locator beacon, but authorities did not pick up any signal.