MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. ( AP) — Mount Rainier National Park remained closed today following the discovery of the body of the suspected gunman in the fatal shooting of a park ranger that has devastated the closeknit group of park workers.
The park, which sees more than 1.5 million visitors annually, has been off-limits since Margaret Anderson was killed Sunday morning. The body of the man suspected of killing her was found Monday morning by a plane searching the rugged, snowy area.
“We have been through a horrific experience,” said park superintendent Randy King. “We’re going to need a little time to regroup.”
Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, was lying partially submerged in a frigid mountain creek with snow banks standing several feet high on each side.
“He was wearing T-shirt, a pair of jeans and one tennis shoe. That was it,” said Pierce County Sheriff ’s spokesman Ed Troyer.
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