WA WA - Olympic National Park, WhtMale 645UMWA, 30-50, In Tent-Gunshot Suicide, July'00

[kpdx]

i coudn't find a thread for this john, seems like its solvable....

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/645umwa.htmlhttp://www.doenetwork.org/cases/645umwa.html


what does everyone think about either of these two missing as possible matches?

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/4002dmid.htmlhttp://www.doenetwork.org/cases/4002dmid.html

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3424dmwa.htmlhttp://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3424dmwa.html

[webrocket]

I'm surprised this thread generated no comments other than the original post.

I could not find the UID in Namus and kpdx's suggestion of Brian Ross Richie (the Idaho MP link) is not bad given the general demographic of the UID and the fact that Richie was said to be suicidal and had a weapon with him.

not clear what would have happened to his vehicle though.

there is also this fellow John Cranford, missing from a campsite in Eugene OR in August 1996. his stated age of 43 is in the range and had brown hair as did the UID. the low side of Cranford's height range (5'7" to 5'10") is on the high side of the UID, (5'3"to 5'8") but the ranges do overlap for two inches.

Cranford's face looks rounder than the UID but given that he was last seen at a campsite, he might have been roughing it for food and lost weight.

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/872/0/

[kpdx]

i am surprised there were no other posters, too...because i think this is solvable. only question is whether or not he has been identified already, as he isn't listed on the king county ME's site.

good thoughts on Cranford, but I think the distance between Eugene and where the UID was found make it more unlikely than not, especially because of Cranford's circumstances. Seems more likely that Cranford disappeared due to an accident...as it would appear his camping gear was left at the site.

does anyone want to follow up with the ME and check the status of the case?

[Cubby]

I wish we knew who the gun was registered to. Was it reported stolen, was LE able to track down the owner? That might tell us something, unless it was stolen.

I like the two possibles in the OP and agree with kpdx's thoughts in the above post about Cranford. The noses look off on Cranford and the composite of the UID from the doenet link, but I'm not sure how accurate they can get the nose on skeletal remains. CarlK would have to explain how accurate a nose might be if he catches this thread.

[kpdx]

I went back through my emails, and I was in touch in 2009 with King County re: this UID. They never followed up with additional information, but I am going to go ahead and see if I can't re-establish contact.

[kpdx]

Just got a gracious and receptive note from the Forensic Anthropologist at the ME's office who volunteered that yes, the gun was run through NPS.

She also let me know that they are in the process of updating NAMUS with their UIDs and hopeful the information will be available there within the next few months...yay!

I have asked for some additional information about John Doe and I believe she is interested enough in Ritchie to investigate further, although suggested that the gun and absence of a vehicle made the match unlikely.

Kudos again to Washington State LE for their wonderful responsiveness, helpful information, and willingness to work with websleuthers. I have had nothing but positive experiences with LE in WA, which I can't say for every state.

I think it is so important to continue to foster strong relationships and build a partnership so that those of us who are passionate about helping to identify Does can have access to information and have a receptive audience for our help.

[cj327]

This one caught my attention yesterday.
I wonder if the collection of items found (saw, binoculars...) could suggest how far he traveled to get to the Sol Duc area. I wonder why he chose to hike in there at Sol Duc rather than at one of the other trailheads at the park. This is a popular area, but it is also the farthest part of the peninsula relative to most population centers.
The list of gear, if it is mostly complete, strikes me as a bit odd, and probably that of someone who normally did not hike in to camp. In other words, someone who normally camped out of a car.

It is interesting that no vehicle was ever found. I can check but I think there is a bus that could goes near this area. I guess hitch hiking is the other option.
Mainly, I am trying to get an idea of how far he would have come...owing to the fact that there are lots of other beautiful national parks and national forests in WA state (this is based on an assumption that he was planning to kill himself when he went to the park), my suspicion is that he chose this one because it was closest. That would mean he came from western WA or even the Olympic Peninsula itself.

Sol Duc is in Clallam County I believe, even though the contact for this case is in King Co.