PORT ANGELES — A man’s body was found in a tent early Wednesday morning under the deck of the Tumwater Truck Route bridge, Port Angeles police said.
“It appears this is possibly a suicide, and it’s possibly by overdose, but that is very preliminary,” Deputy Chief Jason Viada said late Wednesday afternoon.
“We’ve still got to have the autopsy and we’ve still got to have the [toxicology tests],” he said.
An acquaintance found the remains of the man, who is in his early 40s.
His identification is being withheld pending notification of the family.
The body was reported at 2:44 a.m. Wednesday, according to the police department’s call-for-service log.
The tent was up an embankment where the hill meets the deck of the Eighth Street bridge, Viada said.
“We’re talking about a camp that was under there,” he said.
The man is a longtime homeless resident of Port Angeles.
A police report on the death was not completed late Wednesday afternoon, although the preliminary investigation was finished, Viada said.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney-Coroner Mark Nichols said arrangements were being made Wednesday to have the remains autopsied and a toxicology report prepared.
The toxicology report could take a month or more.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.