FORKS — A body found in the confluence of two rivers near LaPush has not yet been identified, Ron Cameron, Clallam County Sheriff’s chief criminal deputy said Sunday.
The badly decomposed body was discovered in shallow riffles where the Bogachiel and Sol Duc rivers become the Quillayute River near Leyendecker Park about 6 miles east of LaPush.
The body, spotted by a fisherman early Saturday afternoon, “was not fresh. It was in the water for a while,” Cameron said.
Because of the severity of decomposition, Cameron said an autopsy will be necessary to know anything about the body, including gender.
Dr. Daniel Selove of Everett, a forensic pathologist, is expected to perform the autopsy early this week, perhaps even today.
It will be scheduled by the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
There was no identification on the body, but there were items, such as a cellphone, that may help determine who the person was, Cameron said.
The body was spotted near the boat ramp at the county-run Leyendecker Park, a popular location with boaters and fishermen, he said.
Cameron said he thought the body probably washed down from another location because it was very visible in the shallows, and if it had been near the ramp for any length of time, someone would have spotted it.
LaPush Police Chief Bill Lyon said his officers were at the scene Saturday and had called the Sheriff’s Office for assistance.
Cameron said he could not speculate on whether the body may be that of Jason “Jake” Simons, 30, reported missing from the Forks area last month but added that no one else has been reported missing from the area recently.
Simons’ family reported him missing to authorities April 8.
(“Authorities still seeking missing Forks man” — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130510/NEWS/305109988)
Anyone with information is asked to call the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office at 360-417-2459.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
