PORT ANGELES — Robert L. Griffin still has questions surrounding the death of his younger brother, an experienced hiker whose body was found Jan. 25 in Olympic National Park a month after he went missing.
Griffin, 71, of DeWitt, Mich., said Friday he derives a certain degree of solace from a recently completed autopsy that showed James T. Griffin, 60, died from hypothermia in a hiking fatality that’s been ruled an accident, as authorities had suspected.
Searchers found the remains of the experienced hiker up a steep, densely forested slope about 1,000 feet from the popular, road-like Olympic Hot Springs trail he loved.
Griffin also was less than a mile from his Subaru, parked at the trailhead.
‘Really odd’
“It is really odd,” Griffin’s brother said Friday in a telephone interview with the Peninsula Daily News.
“I don’t have information that adds any bearing on anything.
“It’s just one of those things that happened, and nobody will ever know what the reasons were for him going up the hill.”
Griffin had been last seen at about 4 p.m. Dec. 22 at the hot springs before setting off in the direction of his vehicle.
He was reported missing after he did not show up at a planned Christmas Eve dinner.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney and Coroner Mark Nichols released information on Griffin’s cause and manner of death Friday after receiving an autopsy report from Dr. Eric Kiesel of Tacoma, the county’s forensic pathologist.
“There were no controlled substances that would result in any hallucinogenic high or experience,” Nichols said Friday.
“From our perspective, this concludes the matter.
“It appears [Griffin’s death] was unplanned and that it occurred without intention, so we don’t have any more information than that.”
Found bag on Christmas
Griffin’s pack, found Dec. 25 about 50 feet off the trail, contained food, water, snacks and fire-starters.
An unfinished bag of prepared food was nearby.
The weather was rainy and in the mid-30s on Dec. 22 and 23.
Park Ranger Sanny Lustig speculated in a Feb. 2 PDN interview that Griffin got lost in the rainy dark.
At least searchers found his body, Robert Griffin said.
“He isn’t still missing, and that’s the biggest thing,” he said.
“That gives us a lot of closure.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
