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PORT ANGELES – Hurricane Ridge Road remained closed Monday evening after a man from the North Olympic Peninsula, armed with a rifle, fled into the woods of Deer Park Campground on Sunday morning, authorities said.
The wild areas of Deer Park and Hurricane Ridge were also off-limits to campers, who were evacuated from the area.
“There is no known immediate threat to local residents, at least at this point,” Brian King, Clallam County Deputy Chief Assistant said Monday morning, adding that law enforcement was concerned about the man’s mental instability, concerns arising from his comments.
“The information we have at the moment is that this is a precautionary measure in the hopes that they can obtain services from this person,” King said.
King said the man was armed with a long gun and his friend said he used methamphetamine.
The park identified him Monday night as a white man in his 30s who has access to food, water and camping gear.
A 2010 federal law allows visitors to carry loaded firearms into Olympic National Park and 371 other national parks and national monuments.
“A lot of people come into the park armed,” King said, adding that guns are usually handguns or concealed weapons.
“Long guns are quite rare. “
Park spokeswoman Penny Wagner said in an email Monday that there were no injuries and the man had not directly threatened anyone.
She said the Deer Park and Hurricane Ridge areas will remain closed, and she confirmed the man lived on the Northern Olympic Peninsula.
The park has enlisted the help of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, King said.
The incident happened on Sunday morning, he said.
A friend of the man alerted authorities to his behavior by calling 9-1-1, King said.
“His last known place was in the park,” King said.
The man is said to be confined to the Deer Park area, but with extensive trail networks in the area, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said it was unknown, the agency said in a press release Monday evening.
King said the FBI was involved in the investigation.
“There were concerns about access to the trails in Deer Park. I guess there were concerns about access to the trails at all places in the park in case he made his way to the backcountry.
“The information we have that we know of is that he was 6 or 7 miles into the park, which is a pretty significant distance,” King said.
Law enforcement has in their possession “certain writings” of the man, “some notes that he had,” King said.
“I don’t know if we would call it a manifesto. It belongs to the police.
The park posted a notice of the incident on its website at 9:26 p.m. Sunday.
A recording on the park information line (360-565-3131) indicated that the roads leading to the campground and Hurricane Ridge would remain closed Monday – Deer Park Road at the park boundary and Hurricane Ridge Road above the Heart O ‘the Hills campsite.
He had previously directed audiences Sunday night to his social media updates via Facebook and Twitter, where park officials will continue to post updates.
“The National Park Service worked throughout the day to help visitors to these areas get out of the park,” the publication said.
“The Deer Park and Hurricane Ridge areas will remain closed until [Sunday] night for public safety due to an ongoing law enforcement incident, ”he said.
“An armed and potentially dangerous individual was last in the Deer Park area. The National Park Service has been working all day to help visitors to these areas get out of the park. A multi-agency response is in place.
Wagner was unable to report late Monday afternoon if there was an active and ongoing search for the man he was wearing so people could report to authorities if they saw him, s ‘he had survival gear to withstand what could be a second night in the open, or if he had committed a crime.
King was unavailable for comment on Monday afternoon.
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Senior Editor Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at [email protected].
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