Strange Disappearance on Rainier’s Wonderland Trail

[Lurch]

It's a safe bet unless death is expected and in a hospital, there is going to be an autopsy

Hope you're right, but the media reports are the remains went to a funeral home and not the M.E.'s office.

Regardless, after a month exposed to the elements, short of obvious trauma the D.C. will probably list the cause of death as the reliable label of 'probable exposure' or similar.

More research is needed... all we have is the superficial press release by parks service.

In Oregon at least, I don't see any reason/way it *wouldn't* go through an M.E. or Coroner, there would at least be an investigation

ORS 146.090
Deaths requiring investigation
(1) The medical examiner shall investigate and certify the cause and manner of all human deaths:
(a) Apparently homicidal, suicidal or occurring under suspicious or unknown circumstances;
(b) Resulting from the unlawful use of controlled substances or the use or abuse of chemicals or toxic agents;
(c) Occurring while incarcerated in any jail, correction facility or in police custody;
(d) Apparently accidental or following an injury;
(e) By disease, injury or toxic agent during or arising from employment;
(f) While not under the care of a physician during the period immediately previous to death;
(g) Related to disease which might constitute a threat to the public health; or
(h) In which a human body apparently has been disposed of in an offensive manner.

Subsection F is kind of the catchall

[200,000']

In Oregon at least, I don't see any reason/way it *wouldn't* go through an M.E. or Coroner, there would at least be an investigation

Right, but the jurisdiction isn't OR.

Also, an "investigation" doesn't necessarily mean an autopsy. Unless someone is really pushing, I don't expect the county to commit the resources.... to the authorities it will just be another guy who made wrong turn and died in the woods from exposure. Case closed.

Even if there were an autopsy, it wouldn't explain the circumstances of why and how he ended up in that odd location. That is really the puzzle.

[Koda]

Even if there were an autopsy, it wouldn't explain the circumstances of why and how he ended up in that odd location. That is really the puzzle.

wouldn't the cause of death have a lot to do with how a person ended up where they were?

[Lurch]

In Oregon at least, I don't see any reason/way it *wouldn't* go through an M.E. or Coroner, there would at least be an investigation

Right, but the jurisdiction isn't OR.

Also, an "investigation" doesn't necessarily mean an autopsy. Unless someone is really pushing, I don't expect the county to commit the resources.... to the authorities it will just be another guy who made wrong turn and died in the woods from exposure. Case closed.

Even if there were an autopsy, it wouldn't explain the circumstances of why and how he ended up in that odd location. That is really the puzzle.

Yes I know it's not in Oregon, hence the "In Oregon at least.." preface I don't know RCW nearly as well as I know ORS. The 'investigation' bit should explain the circumstances of why and how he ended up there, but no they probably won't release it to anyone but the family and other investigators.

[200,000']

An update...

I decided to followup on this story and learned the remains of Edwin Birch were found a little more than a year after he disappeared. The details are scant. No mention of the condition of the remains, whether there was evidence of violence, how far off the trail the remains were found, or whether he was found inside or outside the area that was intensely searched for a week. No further information from the medical examiner's office either:

Edwin Birch found deceased
http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/h ... and-trail/

http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/art ... 16237.html

A body found Sunday on the east side of Mount Rainier may be that of a 64-year-old Tacoma hiker who disappeared more than a year ago, a spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park said Tuesday.
But the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office said it will need several days to identify the remains, found by park visitors exploring Sunday near Frying Pan Glacier. .
Park spokesman Kevin Bacher says the location and other identifying factors are consistent with a Tacoma hiker who went missing on the Wonderland Trail on July 12, 2014. Park officials have notified the family.
Edwin Birch, 64 at the time of his disappearance, was hiking a 19-mile section of the Wonderland Trail with his son. They’d set a goal of hiking the 93-mile Wonderland Trail in segments and had finished their first section a week earlier. Birch was hiking from Box Canyon to White River and his son was hiking in the opposite direction.
They rendezvoused at Indian Bar before continuing on. The son retrieved the car at the Box Canyon trailhead, but his father was not waiting when he returned to White River at about midnight. When Birch had not arrived by 1:30 a.m., the son notified rangers.
Park officials spent a week searching for Birch.
The area where Birch went missing, near Pan Handle Gap, is the highest point on the Wonderland Trail at 6,800 feet above sea level. Patches of snow can cover the route year round.
Bacher says the recovery team was on foot when they retrieved the remains. Because the remains are so old, they will take longer to identify, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office.

[peanut170]

An update...

I decided to followup on this story and learned the remains of Edwin Birch were found a little more than a year after he disappeared. The details are scant. No mention of the condition of the remains, whether there was evidence of violence, how far off the trail the remains were found, or whether he was found inside or outside the area that was intensely searched for a week. No further information from the medical examiner's office either:

Edwin Birch found deceased
http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/h ... and-trail/

http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/art ... 16237.html

A body found Sunday on the east side of Mount Rainier may be that of a 64-year-old Tacoma hiker who disappeared more than a year ago, a spokesman for Mount Rainier National Park said Tuesday.
But the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office said it will need several days to identify the remains, found by park visitors exploring Sunday near Frying Pan Glacier. .
Park spokesman Kevin Bacher says the location and other identifying factors are consistent with a Tacoma hiker who went missing on the Wonderland Trail on July 12, 2014. Park officials have notified the family.
Edwin Birch, 64 at the time of his disappearance, was hiking a 19-mile section of the Wonderland Trail with his son. They’d set a goal of hiking the 93-mile Wonderland Trail in segments and had finished their first section a week earlier. Birch was hiking from Box Canyon to White River and his son was hiking in the opposite direction.
They rendezvoused at Indian Bar before continuing on. The son retrieved the car at the Box Canyon trailhead, but his father was not waiting when he returned to White River at about midnight. When Birch had not arrived by 1:30 a.m., the son notified rangers.
Park officials spent a week searching for Birch.
The area where Birch went missing, near Pan Handle Gap, is the highest point on the Wonderland Trail at 6,800 feet above sea level. Patches of snow can cover the route year round.
Bacher says the recovery team was on foot when they retrieved the remains. Because the remains are so old, they will take longer to identify, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office.

Thanks for the update. Id been curious of this since he first disappeared. Would be nice to know the actual cause of death, but at least the body has been recovered.

[-Q-]

Yes, thank you for the update.
I spent a bunch of time looking for Mr. Birch while I was hiking in that area not long after his disappearance. My system was to look for any color (clothing, pack etc) amongst the meadows/hills/drainages with my monocular at multiple points along the trail.
I wonder exactly where the body was located. I suspected all along a river drainage would be involved.

[scrambler2]

I wonder exactly where the body was located. I suspected all along a river drainage would be involved.

Near Frying Pan Glacier. Far from any river drainage.

[-Q-]

I wonder exactly where the body was located. I suspected all along a river drainage would be involved.

Near Frying Pan Glacier. Far from any river drainage.

That's the region where I focused my search... Between panhandle gap and ohanapecosh park.

I kept looking downslope though, thinking creek drainage and gravity would play a part. Didn't really think to search up hill.
I was way off base.

Glad that he was found for his families sake.

[sprengers4jc]

Then there's the father and son from Kentucky who's car was found near the Dog River TH with a lot of hiking gear still in it. I think there was just a couple stories about it in the Hood River News but not a word since. Only two searches were done. Very strange.

Just saw that this story has a sad ending.