QUILCENE — A search for a man who went missing Saturday morning in Quilcene ended when rescuers found him dead in a wooded area near the house in which he was staying.
Robert “Bob” Criner, 79, was found at about 11 a.m. Sunday by Border Patrol officers who were assisting in the search.
He died of an apparent suicide, Sgt. Ben Stamper of Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said.
“We are absolutely not considering this foul play,” Stamper said.
Stamper said that Criner had apparently hung himself in a wooded area less than a mile from the house where he was staying with some friends, who were not identified.
Criner’s disappearance prompted a multi-agency search.
In addition to Jefferson County Search and Rescue, Clallam County Search and Rescue, Kitsap County Search and Rescue, Tacoma Mountain Rescue, Olympic Mountain Rescue out of Kitsap County, the U.S. Border Patrol and the Olympic Peninsula Red Cross all assisted, Stamper said.
“Everyone was very helpful,” he said.
“The other groups were helping search and then the Red Cross came out and fed all of the searchers.”
Snohomish County Search and Rescue also launched its helicopter, but was called off when Criner’s body was found.
Criner was originally from California and had been staying with friends in Quilcene since his wife’s death in April, Stamper said.
He hadn’t been seen since early Saturday morning.
He didn’t drive and used a walking stick and was blind in one eye.
Criner’s family, who all live in California, were notified of his death Sunday early afternoon.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
