Body found in Coast range was mutilated, men say

Thursday, March 15, 2007 |
TILLAMOOK (AP) - A body found in a Coast Range recreation area had been mutilated, say two men who came across it as they searched for a campsite.
Investigators are treating the case as a homicide and say the victim has not been identified. They say the body was damaged in an apparent attempt to prevent identification, but one investigator says the witnesses are wrong about some of their observations.
Charles Hollywood and his son-in-law, Nathan Lohr, of Hillsboro, said Wednesday the body's arms were severed, its eyes were missing, its chest cavity was disemboweled, and parts of it were burned.
Tillamook County Sheriff Todd Anderson said he couldn't be specific about all those descriptions. Of the report that the arms had been severed, he said, “I can tell that's not correct. ... I can tell you generally that decomposition and animals can be an explanation for a lot of that.”
Hollywood and Lohr said they were making a day trip to the Brown's Camp area, used by campers, hunters and off-road drivers. Hollywood said a winter storm dropped a tree through his usual camping spot, so he, his son and Lohr were hiking uphill in search of a new site when they found the body.
A State Police investigator had not yet talked with the two, spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said, and he could not confirm their account.
An autopsy has been completed, Anderson said. But, he said, other tests remain to be conducted and investigators still have questions about the condition of the body.
An autopsy determined it was that of a white or Hispanic male in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5-foot-6 with a small build and very short dark hair. Police say the man was wearing blue jeans and a white “Puma” running sock with a black sole.
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