By McClatchy News Service
WASHINGTON —
The remains of Bill Fitzpatrick, who worked for almost 15 years at Olympic and North Cascades national parks, have been found about 10 months after he disappeared during a flight over Cameroon, the National Park Service reported Friday.
The wreckage of the plane he was flying was discovered April 9 by local hunters in mountainous terrain in the west African nation, according to the Park Service.
Fitzpatrick, 59, disappeared June 22, 2014. He was flying a new Cessna 172 that had recently arrived in Africa. He was headed to Congo to use the plane in efforts to stop elephant poaching. He was the only person on board.
A former Peace Corps volunteer, Fitzpatrick was a ranger and pilot for 25 years at park units including Gates of the Arctic National Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area-Presidio.
He worked on trail crews at Olympic from 1981-87 and had been a district ranger at Stehekin in North Cascades National Park Service Complex while working there from 2003-11.
He had retired from the Park Service and taken a job working at two parks in Africa — Outamba-Kilimi National Park and Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Fitzpatrick is survived by his wife, Paula, and their three children, Mary, Matthew, and Cody, who live in Chelan, Wash.
Fitzpatrick received the Park Service’s Exemplary Act Award for his assistance in the capture of three gunmen in 2000 during an 18-hour gunfight in Death Valley, Calif.
The gunmen’s bullets hit his plane three times as he flew for more than 10 hours circling their location while ground troops moved in for the arrest, according to the Park Service.
