Human remains found in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, could be missing hiker from 2013

Human remains were found within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in eastern Skamania County earlier this month, and detectives with the sheriff’s office believe the remains belong to a hiker who went missing more than a decade ago.

A hiker found a human skull on Aug. 10 while in the national forest and reported it to local authorities. Detectives went out to find the human remains, but couldn’t until the hiker volunteered to return to the area five days later to help them recover the skull.

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The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office is now processing the remains for identification, but Skamania County Sheriff’s Office deputies believe the remains belong to a hiker who went missing in 2013. The skull was found in the same location where the missing hiker was last seen.

KIRO 7 previously reported about two different people going missing in that area in 2013 — Maureen Kelly, 19, from Vancouver and Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, from Oregon.

The Associated Press reported that Kelly was last seen in June 2013 after leaving on a spiritual quest. Her friend reported she went into the woods naked with only a compass and knife in a fanny pack, and when she failed to return to the Canyon Creek Campground, her friend reported it to local authorities.

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Zitzewitz went missing a couple of months later in 2013 after being separated from his hiking partner due to early-season snowfall blocking their route. He was hiking in a remote area of the Pacific Crest Trail in Skamania County, and became separated from his friend after looking for caves.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

Contributing: KIRO 7

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.