FRESHWATER BAY — Gently rising and falling with the incoming afternoon tide, the dead whale first discovered Sunday night returned to shore Wednesday afternoon, continuing to plague Place Road property owners.
The carcass remained in the surf late Wednesday afternoon, perpendicular to the beach with its tail facing the shore.
The smell of rotting flesh is apparent before even stepping onto the beach.
The 40-foot whale carcass, which Cascadia Research scientists say was an endangered sei whale, was found Sunday evening on the shores of a beach off Place Road. It is an endangered species and not normally seen in this area.
The whale carcass disappeared from in front of Lyndee Lapin’s property at 2026 Place Road on Tuesday morning. She reported seeing it floating west.
But Gary Smith said Wednesday morning the carcass had washed ashore to the east in front of his property at 2393 Place Road.
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The rest of the story appears in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News.