Remains found in forest believed to belong to man who vanished in 2022, WA cops say

Remains found in a forest may belong to a man who has been missing for nearly two years, Washington deputies say.

John Hopkins, 69, of Seattle, was first reported missing in November 2022, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in a Sept. 16 news release.

His rented car was later found parked at the McClellan Meadows Sno-Park lot, deputies said.

Deputies said they searched the area several times to no avail.

Then, in 2023, hunters stumbled on items believed to have belonged to Hopkins about 1.5 miles northeast from where his car was found, according to deputies.

However, his remains were not found, deputies said.

Again, volunteers from the sheriff’s office search and rescue team and Silver Star Rescue Team set out to find Hopkins, deputies said.

Searchers found remains “believed to be Hopkins” near McClellan Meadows in Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Sept. 14, deputies said.

DNA testing will be done to confirm the identity of the remains, the sheriff’s office said.

Third discovery since August

The discovery of the remains was the third of its kind in Gifford Pinchot National Forest since August, according to deputies.

Deputies said a bear hunter found a skull in the forest on Sept. 4, McClatchy News reported.

The identity of the skull is unknown, deputies said, adding that it will be sent for forensic analysis.

About a month earlier, another human skull was found in the forest, deputies said, McClatchy News reported.

The skull, found in the Big Lava Bed area, is believed to belong to a 31-year-old Oregon man missing since 2013, authorities told news outlets.

He had been looking for caves in the area with his partner when he vanished, deputies said.

Gifford Pinchot National Forest is about a 90-mile drive southeast from Tacoma.

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