West End: Bones stir chilling tale

SEKIU — Dirty clothes, a rusty bicycle and bones teetering on the edge of a 30-foot cliff have some Sekiu residents wracking their brains for local missing persons.

But Clallam County Sheriff’s Department officials say the jumble is trash and animal remains, dumped into the bushes off an access trail.

“They look like human bones,” said area resident Doug Ehler, who spotted them Monday afternoon while hiking the trail with his girlfriend and daughter.

Ehler described the three or four “leg” bones as scattered around the bicycle and a pile of wet clothes about 10 feet below the trail, on the edge of a cliff plunging to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The bones’ placement indicates someone may have met their demise on the steep slope, he said.

The site, just west of Olson’s Resort, 461 Front St., is too precarious for rescuers to reach the bones until drier weather allows them to rappel over the cliff’s edge, Undersheriff Joe Martin said Tuesday.

The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Get the PDN delivered to your home or office by simply clicking “Subscribe.”

More in News

Port Townsend Mayor David Faber with wife Laura Faber and daughter Mira Faber at this year’s tree lighting ceremony. (Craig Wester)
Outgoing mayor reflects on the role

Addressing infrastructure and approaching affordable housing

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Active, seen in 2019, returned to Port Angeles on Sunday after it seized about $41.3 million in cocaine in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Steve Strohmaier/U.S. Coast Guard)
Active returns home after seizing cocaine

Coast Guard says cutter helped secure street value of $41.3 million

Woman goes to hospital after alleged DUI crash

A woman was transported to a hospital after the… Continue reading

The Winter Ice Village, at 121 W. Front St. in Port Angeles, is full of ice enthusiasts. Novices and even those with skating skills of all ages enjoyed the time on the ice last weekend. The rink is open daily from noon to 9 p.m. until Jan. 5. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Winter Ice Village ahead of last year’s record pace

Volunteer groups help chamber keep costs affordable

“Snowflake,” a handmade quilt by Nancy Foro, will be raffled to support Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.
Polar bear dip set for New Year’s Day

Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County will host the 38th… Continue reading

Broadband provider says FCC action would be ‘devastating’ to operations

CresComm WiFi serves areas in Joyce, Forks and Lake Sutherland

Public safety tax is passed

Funds could be used on range of services

Stevens Middle School eighth-grader Linda Venuti, left, and seventh-graders Noah Larsen and Airabella Rogers pour through the contents of a time capsule found in August by electrical contractors working on the new school scheduled to open in 2028. The time capsule was buried by sixth graders in 1989. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Middle school students open capsule from 1989

Phone book, TV Guide among items left behind more than 30 years ago

Electronic edition of newspaper set Thursday

Peninsula Daily News will have an electronic edition on… Continue reading

Hill Street reopens after landslide

Hill Street in Port Angeles has been reopened to… Continue reading

Tom Malone of Port Townsend, seeks the warmth of a towel and a shirt as he leaves the 46-degree waters of the Salish Sea on Saturday after he took a cold plunge to celebrate the winter solstice. “You can’t feel the same after doing this as you did before,” Malone said. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Solstice plunge

Tom Malone of Port Townsend, seeks the warmth of a towel and… Continue reading

Tribe, Commerce sign new agreement

Deal to streamline grant process, official says