OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Officials are investigating the apparent suicide of an unidentified man in the Royal Basin area southwest of Sequim.
Two hikers on Saturday found the badly burned body in the charred remains of a crude lean-to that had been set afire.
Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said officials have not identified the body.
She said the body was so badly burned that officials will likely use DNA testing to make a positive identification.
The park is working with the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office to access DNA records, Maynes said.
“The park received a call late Saturday night of a possible suicide,” she said.
The park was notified by concerned family members of a note describing a relative’s suicide plans.
Poor weather prevented park officials from hiking into the area Sunday, but when park investigators arrived on the scene Monday they found the burned lean-to and human remains within the structure, Maynes said.
Another note was found in the Royal Basin area similar to that left with family members, Maynes said.
“All the evidence found correlates with the plan in the notes,” Maynes said.
“Our investigator has determined it was suicide, and all that remains to be done is a positive identification.”
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The rest of the story appears in Thurday’s Peninsula Daily News.
