The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office launched a death investigation after a dead body was discovered near a logging road in Ariel on Monday, Nov. 11.
According to a department press release, a call was made at about 8 a.m. to Cowlitz 911 to report an unresponsive person found on logging road along Lewis River Road, also known as state Route 503, near Lake Merwin.
A Washington State Patrol trooper was the first law enforcement officer to arrive at the scene, where he found an unresponsive man, later determined to be deceased.
No other identifying information about the man has been released.
Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office detectives also arrived at the scene to investigate due to what the press release calls “suspicious circumstances” but does not elaborate.
The Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office plans to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.