By Jeremy Schwartz
Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputies have identified the body of a man found in the Lyre River as that of 50-year-old Port
Angeles resident James W. Hopkins.
Deputies do not suspect foul play was a factor in Hopkins’ death, said Ron Cameron, Clallam County chief criminal deputy, though a cause of death has not yet been determined.
An autopsy was scheduled for Today.
Friends of Hopkins reported him missing from the Lyre River Campground the weekend of Sept. 8, Cameron said, which triggered an unsuccessful search by sheriff’s deputies and Clallam County Search and Rescue.
After receiving a report of a body in the Lyre River, deputies found Hopkins’ body last Friday in a log jam directly below the state Highway 112 bridge over the river, about 5 miles west of Joyce, Cameron said.
________
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
Earlier story:
By Arwyn Rice
Peninsula Daily News
JOYCE — Authorities are not releasing the name of a man whose body was found in the Lyre River until next-of-kin has been notified, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
The man’s body was found Friday, said Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron.
“A citizen saw the body from the 112 bridge,” Cameron said.
Next of kin had not been told of the death as of Monday.
“He has a home in Port Angeles, but his family may not be here,” Cameron said.
The Sheriff’s Office received a report of a man missing from a Lyre River campground around the Labor Day Weekend.
“A man left his campsite and was not seen again,” Cameron said.
Items found near the body support the identification as being the missing person, which is expected to be confirmed during the autopsy.
The man was reported missing a week after he was last seen.
An acquaintance notified the Sheriff’s Office after he noticed that the man’s camping gear was still at the campground long after he was supposed to have departed, Cameron said.
A witness told deputies that he was certain he had seen the missing man at a bus stop on the morning he was reported missing, he said.
Clallam County Search and Rescue conducted a search of the river and nearby woods but found no sign of the man, Undersheriff Ron Peregrin said.
Cameron said that there was notable decomposition of the body, and an autopsy will be performed this week to determine a cause of death.
“The body had been in the water for a while,” he said.
————
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
