JOYCE — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office was investigating Monday the death of a man whose body was found along state Highway 112 just west of Joyce.
An autopsy will be performed at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in Seattle, Clallam County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Keegan said Monday.
A pedestrian reported a deceased male in tall grass on the north side of the highway near Wye Road between mileposts 49 and 50 at about 9 p.m. Friday, deputies said.
He was wearing a woodland camouflage Army-style field jacket, blue athletic shorts and dark-colored sandals, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was not carrying identification.
Anyone with information on the man based on his clothing description or the area in which he was found is urged to phone the Sheriff’s Office dispatch line at 360-417-2459. Ask to speak with a deputy.
“Based on the scene and items found on the body, deputies do not believe at this time that the deceased was a victim of a crime, nor was the body dumped in that location,” Keegan said in a Sunday news release.
In a Monday interview, Keegan said there was no indication that the man had been struck by a vehicle.
“Any information like that would be speculatory because we’re really going to need a medical examiner or pathologist to be able to really fill us in to what happened, but we do not believe at this time that that is what occurred,” Keegan said.
“But again, we want the medical examiner to be able to confirm that for us.”
A county Search and Rescue team performed an extensive search of the area Sunday but found no evidence to help determine the man’s identity, deputies said.
The Sheriff’s Office issued a call for the public’s assistance in identifying the decedent Sunday evening. Investigators had received “at least three” tips as of noon Monday, Keegan said.
“Everyone’s been eliminated because we have proof of life,” Keegan said of the recent leads.
“We have been able to actually identify and show it’s not those people by seeing them in person, but we still urge people to keep calling us because that’s going to help us identify (the man).”
Keegan estimated the man had been dead for “at least a week” before the body was discovered.
The autopsy will be performed in King County because of the state of decomposition, Keegan said Monday.
The autopsy will determine the man’s age, race and manner of death, the Sheriff’s Office said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
