Two of three bodies found in Olympic National Park identified
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK, Wash. -- The bodies of two hikers found in Olympic National Park on July 2 were identified Friday.
Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell said dental records were used to identify Zach Krull, a 23-year-old Evergreen State College student who went missing in Olympic National Park in April and whose body was found on July 2.
Stockwell said that an autopsy conducted on Friday was inconclusive as to the cause of death. He added that there were no injuries to Krull's body and that he most likely died from hypothermia, or the loss of core body temperature. His family told the sheriff's office he was well-equipped but apparently did not have an avalanche beacon.
A camera and smart phone were recovered on Krull's body and are being forensically examined by the National Park Service, the agency investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
Also on Friday, the body of a man found near the Norwegian Memorial on the coast within Olympic National Park on July 2 was identified as William "Dave" Woodson, Ph.D., 60, of Kingston, Wash.
Woodson, a doctor of entomology, had a backcountry permit showing a solo hike through the coastal area, the park said. An autopsy is still pending for determination of cause of death.
A third body -- that of a woman -- was also found in the park on July 2.
The park said a visitor reported a possible trash dump off Obstruction Point Road in the Hurricane Ridge area of the park. Rangers found the reported trash dump to be the remains of a vehicle about 200 feet down the steep embankment. A team of rangers rappelled down to the site and discovered the remains of woman.
Identification documents were found in the vehicle possibly matching a missing person out of Issaquah. The remains were recovered and identification of the woman is pending forensic analysis.