PORT ANGELES — The body of a man found Wednesday in the Heart o’ the Hills campground in Olympic National Park has been identified as Chris E. Boysen, 54, of Port Angeles.
The case is under investigation by the FBI, according to Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols.
No information was available Thursday on the condition of the body when it was found.
Nichols, who acts as county coroner, said Boysen’s body was being held for an autopsy and that a determination of the cause of death was pending.
“We felt [an autopsy] was appropriate,” Nichols said.
He would not comment on whether the death appeared suspicious.
“I have minimal information,” Nichols said, because the body had been found on federal land, and the death was being investigated by the FBI.
Boysen’s landlord had reported him missing Monday to a law enforcement agency, said Barb Maynes, park spokeswoman.
Maynes had said the report was to the Port Angeles Police Department. Deputy Chief Brian Smith said that report had been made to the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office was not available for comment Thursday.
Maynes said Boysen’s body “was found by a National Park Service ranger late [Wednesday] afternoon at a campsite in the Heart o’ the Hills campground.
“Since the death occurred on federal land within the Olympic National Park, the FBI is assisting NPS officers in a joint investigation,” she continued.
“The investigation is ongoing; no further information is available at this time.”
Said the FBI’s Seattle spokeswoman: “We won’t be able to make a conclusive determination until autopsy and all relevant testing results are returned, which often takes many weeks.
“Because the joint investigation is ongoing, there are no further details we can release at this time,” Ayn Sandalo Dietrich-Williams, media cooridnator for the FBI Seattle office, said in an email.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office originally assisted the park in the investigation.
The campground is located near the headwaters of Ennis Creek just east of Hurricane Ridge Road, a short distance south of the park boundary and about 6 miles from downtown Port Angeles.
