PORT ANGELES — Two of three bodies that were discovered in Olympic National Park last weekend have been identified by authorities.
A man whose body was found near the Norwegian Memorial on June 1 has been identified as William “Dave” Woodson, 60, of Kingston, Olympic National Park officials said Friday.
Woodson’s body was discovered in a boulder field near the memorial on the remote coastline southwest of Lake Ozette.
An autopsy is pending.
“We still don’t have anything as far as a cause of death determination,” park spokeswoman Penny Wagner said in a Friday interview.
Woodson had a backcountry permit showing a solo hike through the coastal area, park officials said.
A hasty team of protection rangers, backcountry rangers and fire personnel located the body. The team stayed on scene overnight and a helicopter was called in the next day for recovery.
“Our condolences go out to the Woodson family and friends in this time of sorrow,” Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor said in a press release.
A body that was found near Lake Cushman on the opposite side of the park was confirmed to be that of missing hiker Zach Krull, Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell said Friday.
Krull, a 20-year-old Evergreen State College student from Livingston, N.J., had been missing since early April.
His body was discovered about two miles north of Lake Cushman by a hiker June 1.
Olympic National Park rangers, Olympic Mountain Rescue volunteers, Mason County Search and Rescue and Tacoma Mountain Rescue recovered the body June 2 off-trail near Flapjack Lakes in the Staircase area of the park.
The identify of Krull’s body was confirmed by dental records provided by the family, Stockwell said.
The results of a Friday autopsy were inconclusive.
“There are no clear signs of the cause of death,” Stockwell said in a telephone interview.
Lab tests will help determine the cause and manner of Woodson’s death.
Stockwell said Krull most likely died from hypothermia or the loss of core body temperature.
A camera and smart phone were recovered on Krull’s body and are being forensically examined by the National Park Service, which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death, Stockwell said.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the Krull family and friends in this time of grief,” Taylor said.
“We would like to express our gratitude to all of the agencies and individuals involved in the ongoing search efforts.”
Meanwhile, a woman whose remains were found with a minivan 200 feet down an embankment along Obstruction Point Road near Hurricane Ridge on July 2 has not yet been identified by park officials.
The woman’s body was recovered after a park visitor reported seeing what he believed to be trash down an embankment along the steep-sided road.
Park rangers rappelled down the embankment to recover the body.
Documents found inside the vehicle matched the identification of a missing woman from Issaquah, park officials said.
Final identification is pending a forensic analysis. The family of the missing woman has been contacted for dental records, Wagner said.
Wagner said she did not know exactly where the minivan was found.
“I believe it was within the first few miles (of Obstruction Point Road),” she said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
