Peter Keller bunker
Police found a bunker they believe belongs to Peter Keller, a suspect in the murder of two women, his wife and daughter. (King County Sheriff)

Police find body of murder suspect inside fortified bunker

BY MyNorthwest.com  on April 27, 2012 @ 2:44 pm (Updated: 10:08 am - 4/30/12 )

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Authorities in Washington state say they've found the body of Peter Keller in an elaborate bunker they had surrounded in the Cascade Mountains. Keller was charged with the murder of his wife and teenage daughter last weekend.

The King County Sheriff's Office sent word via Twitter on Saturday that they'd found the body, nearly 23 hours after they first located the structure carved into the side of Rattlesnake Ridge.

Sheriff's Sgt. Katie Larson says a tactical team used explosives to breach the top of the bunker, and when they looked inside they found a man who appeared to be 41-year- old Keller dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Police had been surrounding the rugged underground bunker since it was located on Friday. With clear weather and a fresh SWAT team in place Saturday morning, it was time to act more aggressively, Larson said.

The raid ended a tense week for law enforcement officials who tried to track down Keller, a gun enthusiast described by his family as having a "survivalist mentality." That Keller was likely armed and on the loose in an extremely popular hiking and mountain- biking area east of Seattle kept many people on edge.

"There's been a huge sigh of relief," Larson said. "Our people are out safe, and the trails are now safe for the community to use."

Keller had spent eight years building the bunker into the side of Rattlesnake Ridge, police said. It was thoroughly camouflaged and had multiple levels.

SWAT teams spent a grueling seven hours on the mountainside Friday morning, virtually crawling over dangerously steep terrain slick with mud from recent rains, before they found the bunker. A number of officers were treated intravenously for dehydration, and one broke his ankle, said sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West said.

After long shifts, the officers appeared exhausted, their faces smeared with camouflage paint, as they rode down the mountain in sport-utility vehicles or armored carriers to be replaced by fresher teams.

SWAT officers who kept watch on the bunker through Friday night said they saw lights going on and off, and they believed its occupant had everything necessary to remain inside for a long time, including a generator, food, gas mask, bullet-resistant vest and many guns.

Photographs found in Keller's home after the killings gave authorities an idea of where it was; in one picture that they enhanced, detectives could make out buildings in nearby North Bend. Combined with reports from alert hikers who remembered seeing his faded red pickup truck at the Rattlesnake Ridge trailhead, the sheriff's office sent experienced trackers to the area, where they found off- trail boot prints confirming their belief that he was somewhere on the ridge.

They could smell smoke from its woodstove before they found it.

Authorities pumped tear gas into the structure Friday, but it failed to flush the occupant, either because it didn't penetrate deep enough into the structure, or because the person had a gas mask.

Officers described the bunker as "amazingly fortified" and said the photos recovered from Keller's house don't do it justice, West said.

The bunker was found at about the 1,350-foot level, several hundred yards due east of a trailhead at Rattlesnake Ridge. It had several entryways and ladders.

Court documents described Keller as a loner who has a survivalist mentality and has been stockpiling supplies in the woods.

An arrest warrant issued Wednesday accuses him of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first- degree arson; the home was set on fire after Keller's wife and daughter were shot.

The fire at Keller's home was stopped before the house burned down, and authorities said they found seven gasoline cans placed in different areas of the home.

The King County medical examiner has determined Kaylene Keller, 18, and her mother, Lynnettee Keller, 41, both died from gunshots to the head. Their bodies were found in their bedrooms.

Kaylene's boyfriend told detectives that Peter Keller had shown him his gun collection and several large-caliber rifles and handguns, court documents said. The boyfriend, who was not identified, said Kaylene had told him her father took long hikes on the weekends and was stockpiling supplies at a fort in the woods.

Peter Keller withdrew $6,200 from a bank last week and told one of his co-workers at a computer refurbishing store in Preston that he might not return, according to court documents.


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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MyNorthwest.com, Staff report
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Comments (54)


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  • rational wrote...
    Something is odd...
    April 27, 2012 2:23 pm
    The text says the police found a bunker they think a murder suspect might be hinding in, but the photo is dated December 2007. And if they're not sure whose bunker it is, why are they randomly throwing tear gas in there? If they're wrong, they've just volunteered us to pay off another law suit for their actions.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nervoso wrote...
    Rational
    April 27, 2012 2:26 pm
    if you had reading comprehension skills you would know that they have evidence (photographic maybe? Hmmm...) that he's been working on the bunker for as much as 8 years. Don't be an idiot.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    hold on here - rational may be right
    April 27, 2012 2:42 pm
    the story says they found a bunker. it shows a picture of a 'bunker'. I can't see in the story where it actually says THE picture is of THE bunker. .. My guess is that the picture and the story do not mesh - BAD, SLOPPY reporting. ................. but, nervoso, IF the cops had a picture of THE bunker from 2007, just might have found it a little earlier ?????
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    The pic is of THE bunker
    April 27, 2012 2:45 pm
    the '07 pic is the one found at the home and The Seattle times has another pic of the bunker as it appears today.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nervoso wrote...
    Ron Prevost
    April 27, 2012 2:49 pm
    please, just go away.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pressman wrote...
    wow-
    April 28, 2012 12:17 am
    stupid on display...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Monarch203 wrote...
    Are you stupid?
    April 27, 2012 10:56 pm
    Peter Keller took the photo in 2007!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • jmcgladr wrote...
    @rational...
    April 28, 2012 9:36 am
    1.) Exactly how many bunkers do you think are out there in the woods around North Bend? Not many, I would hope. 2.) This hard drive the one found on a hard drive inside Keller's house. Which is where the stock photo came from, and why it is dated Dec. 2007. Apparently, they have documentation of the whole process of building this fort from evidence they found in Keller's home. 3.) If a survivalist or his family tried to take the Seattle or County police officers to court for tear gassing someone who illegally built a bunker in State-owned land, and refused to cooperate with police, I'd say they'd be on pretty shaky legal ground. This is State-owned land, not private property, and whoever is in there has no business building a permanent structure there or living inside it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • pammy4462 wrote...
    Bunkers
    April 28, 2012 11:03 am
    Sadly i think we would be surprissed at how many really are out there..I hear people stock pilling food and supplies all the time saying the world is coming to an end soon..Sad
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • b1202 wrote...
    Bunker
    April 27, 2012 2:23 pm
    The rat returned to his hole. Please drop a stick of dynamite in there!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Monarch203 wrote...
    Bunker buster
    April 27, 2012 11:02 pm
    Yes, drop stick of dynamite down air vent. Saw this technique in a Road Runner cartoon as a kid.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    He's fortunate he didn't build that bunker in Seattle
    April 27, 2012 2:27 pm
    Looks like that there are enough code violations there to put him away for a long, LONG time.....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JMGilday wrote...
    The photo was taken by the suspect in 2007
    April 27, 2012 2:46 pm
    they were found at the site of the murders and fire. Newer photos by law enforcement - taken today - are at KINGTV.com
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Bunker building skills
    April 27, 2012 3:06 pm
    This guy should have stuck to his old job in I.T. My bunkers , forts , and compounds built when I was a young pup put this to shame. Shame on you Peter Keller for all the bad things you have done.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • messiah101 wrote...
    Look carefully above the entrance
    April 27, 2012 4:19 pm
    You can barely make it out. It says McKenna for Governor Campaign Headquarters
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Howdy wrote...
    Look harder
    April 28, 2012 6:27 am
    it actually says Occupy North Bend
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    why is this taking all day?
    April 27, 2012 3:25 pm
    go to sunbelt rentals, get a couple propane heaters, and simply blast heat in there. once in gets to about 130 or 140 degrees he'll come right out.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • R L M 456 wrote...
    dori monson fan
    April 29, 2012 5:04 pm
    EVERYBODY knows

    Sunbelt rental --delivers to your Site

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    I Love What You've Done With The Place!.......
    April 27, 2012 3:26 pm
    ....It's just FABULOUS!

    Next up......Extreme Bunker Makeover.

    If this guy truly is the perp in this murder ( which is pretty sickening ), maybe they should just get some shovels and fill the thing in?

    But.....he does have the right to a 'fair' trial.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    or put a fire hose in the front door and fill it with water
    April 27, 2012 3:28 pm
    until he gets flushed out.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Vlastimil wrote...
    time to call the national guard out
    April 27, 2012 3:54 pm
    " You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke."
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cash wrote...
    Wow
    April 27, 2012 5:27 pm
    Do you guys really think that the cops are sharing all the info they have with the press? I am sure they are just giving them enough to leave them alone so they can do their jobs...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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