Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer stated that there is no connection between the three sets of human remains discovered in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest between August 10 and September 14.
Officially, none of the human remains found in the woodland have been identified, but the sheriff’s office is pretty sure it has connected two sets of bones to two distinct cases of missing persons.
“Two out of the three are without DNA evidence and are more than likely related to missing persons that have been reported missing while recreating in our County,” Scheyer stated. “Although it is not abnormal for us to recover these types of remains for a missing person long after they were reported missing, it is abnormal and quite shocking to find them in such a short period of time.”
According to Scheyer, the sheriff’s office is certain that the first set of remains discovered in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest since August are those of Portland resident Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, who was last known to be missing in 2013. A hiker in the Big Lava Bed region found the remains.
On September 4, a bear hunter in the vicinity of Sawtooth Berry Fields in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest found the second set of remains.
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office eventually found a human skull, but until a DNA test is finished, deputies won’t talk about the case. Scheyer stated that the process of DNA validation could take anything from six months to a year.
On September 14, the search and rescue team from the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office discovered the third set of remains in the McClellan Meadows region. The discovery of the remains was a result of ongoing searches for Seattle resident John Hopkins, 69, who was reported missing in 2022.
Since a local citizen saw Hopkins’ rental van buried in deep snow at the McClellan Meadows Sno-Park parking lot for several days, the sheriff’s office has been searching for him.
In November 2022, the sheriff’s office looked for Hopkins in the icy meadow, but they found nothing. Deer hunters discovered Hopkins’s belongings in a densely forested region in 2023, sparking an abortive second search for his body.
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The sheriff’s office was able to locate more of Hopkins’ belongings and what are thought to be his remains because there was no snow on the ground and they had a clearer notion of where they may be.
Even though DNA testing is still required to determine the identity of the victims, Scheyer expressed her gratitude for “bringing closure to the families” touched by missing person cases.
