Hiker finds human skull on lava field that may be man missing since 2013, WA cops say
A hiker was venturing on a rocky and jagged lava field in Washington when they discovered a human skull, deputies said.
Authorities believe it may belong to a 31-year-old Oregon man who has been missing since 2013, KATU reported.
The hiker stumbled upon the skull Aug. 10 on the Big Lava Bed in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in an Aug. 22 news release.
They reported it to authorities and returned to the area to lead a sergeant to the skull, deputies said.
It was recovered Aug. 15.
Additional human remains were found in the area and are believed to belong to Kristopher Zitzewitz of Portland, however, a medical examiner will officially identify the remains, according to KATU.
He had been looking for caves on the lava bed with his partner on Sept. 28, 2013, when they got separated, and he vanished, deputies reported that year.
Rescue teams searched for Zitzewitz but never found him.
The search was suspended after a week, The Oregonian reported at the time.
The Big Lava Bed formed when a cinder cone volcano erupted about 8,200 years ago.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Hiker finds human skull on lava field that may be man missing since 2013, WA cops say."
