Olympia police open death investigation after body found in Watershed Park on Sunday

The body of an adult man was found in Watershed Park on Sunday, March 12, and the Olympia Police Department has opened an investigation into the cause of his death.

Police Lt. Paul Lower said a man was out around 5 p.m. Sunday hunting for mushrooms off the trails in Watershed Park when he came across the body down an embankment. He shouted for help, and a group walking the trail called 911. Lower said it appears the man’s body had been there for some time.

Lower said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body, nor disturbances to the scene. Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said the man has not been positively identified yet, and his exam and autopsy will take place this week.

This story was originally published March 13, 2023 at 1:52 PM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

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Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription