Thurston County Coroner identifies body found on Chehalis Western Trail

On February 20 at 12:23 PM, the Olympia Police Department received a report regarding a possible death near 3800 Ensign Road NE, where a resident was alerted by an unknown individual who claimed to have discovered a deceased person on the Chehalis Western Trail.

Upon arrival at the scene, authorities found a 50-year-old white male who reported the incident and said that he had arrived at a wooded area where he had come across a tent surrounded by water while walking on the trail.

After calling out to no response, he unzipped the tent and found an unresponsive man inside.

The reporting party led the authorities to the tent, which emitted a strong odor suspected of decomposition.

“The person was lying on their stomach and facing away from me. I could not see this person's face. I checked the ankle area which was cold,” the responding OPD officer stated on the police report.

Inside, they found an unidentified white male, believed to be 35 years old, whose identifying features were that he had numerous chest tattoos and was found holding a lighter.

Drug paraphernalia and Narcan were also discovered inside the tent.

Thurston County Coroners arrived on the scene and, upon examination, estimated the body to have been deceased for approximately seven to ten days.

No apparent wounds were observed, but blood was found around the man's nose and mouth.

Authorities also found a wallet that contained no identification, only prepaid credit cards.

“We observed burnt straws that I recognized to possibly ingest narcotics and tin foil stuck to Doe,” OPD officer stated.

The next day, the coroners were able to confirm the identity of the body following a fingerprint match.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of death, with suspicions leaning towards a possible drug overdose.