PORT TOWNSEND — A man whose body was found near the foot of a cliff has been identified as Warren A. Shelley Rose, according to the Port Townsend Police Department.
Shelley Rose, 41, was found Sunday near Lands End Park off Elmira Street, Port Townsend Police Chief Michael Evans said Monday.
He was about 100 feet above the water near the bottom of a 300-foot bluff and had apparently fallen from the top of the cliff, public information officer Keppie Keplinger said.
There were no indications of foul play, Evans said.
An autopsy is scheduled for today, said James Kennedy, the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney and coroner.
Police were notified Saturday night that Shelley Rose was not at home, but his wife did not want to file a missing persons report at the time, Evans said.
“She said he had left the house before, and he would sometimes sleep outside,” Evans said.
Shelley Rose’s wife returned to the police station after 10 a.m. Sunday and filed the report, activating a search-and-rescue operation, Evans said.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and East Jefferson Fire-Rescue personnel joined police and volunteers for an operation that set up at Blue Heron Middle School, Evans said.
“They had no idea where he was, but he lived near that area so they were going to start there,” he said.
As they were organizing, a person called 9-1-1 at 12:41 p.m. to report finding a body, and everyone who was staging at the middle school responded, he said.
Once rescuers arrived and reached Shelley Rose down the cliff, he was confirmed to be deceased, Evans said.
“It’s a tragedy any time of the year, but especially this time of the year,” he said.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
