A Mysterious Death and Strange Signs on the Quillayute River in Forks, WA

in travel •  6 years ago 


My final post for the sensational little town of Forks WA on the Olympic Peninsula has a dark undertone...

Location: Bogachiel Peak, Quillayute River in Forks WA

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It might just be human nature to be morbidly curious about such things, but when we saw this memorial we immediately wondered- did Jake drown? Or was this just a favorite spot of his?

The obituary provided a picture of the thirty year old man but did not specify cause of death. So naturally I did a little more digging...

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...and came across this article:

Body found in river on Washington coast identified as missing man

LA PUSH, Wash. — A Clallam County official says a body found in a river near La Push on the Washington coast has been identified as a 30-year-old Forks man missing since April 5.

The Peninsula Daily News reports that Jason "Jake" Simons was identified after an autopsy completed Tuesday in Port Angeles.

Clallam County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mark Nichols says no cause of death has been established.

Simons' remains were found last weekend by a fisherman in the Bogachiel River.

Relatives had reported Simons missing. Forks police say they don't know of any medical reason that might explain the disappearance.

Police say a search of Simons' cellphone records did not show any activity after his disappearance.

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/05/body_found_in_river_on_washing.html

There seems to be more questions than answers in this tragedy, and things went from sad to downright creepy when we noticed the homemade sign attached to a tree directly adjacent to the memorial-


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Okay, okay, it's likely the sign is referring to deer or some kind of game, but it was truly an odd thing to see, especially in that particular location!


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Despite this strange mystery, it's another really pretty place in a town that has more than its share of incredible scenery.

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A brief clip because photos can't capture a river's music-


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Oh and here was another strange thing we came upon...not that someone would camp underneath the bridge- it's a great spot for it, but why would they abandon what appeared to be a perfectly good tent?

Google sadly can't provide an answer to that one.

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On a brighter note- Salmon berries! I forgot about these...I had never even heard of them until we looked up "orange raspberries?" on google. It's hard to describe their flavor, not as sweet as the black raspberries that flourish in NY, but something uniquely pleasant about them.

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Does anyone know what type of flower this is? Never mind, googled it- Pink Digitalis

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And on that note I conclude my series on the fabulous, fantastic Forks- I hope to see you again someday!

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Wow, sad to see this person pass. Mysterious though.

Death is always sad, particularly when they're young :(

Oh so that's what Salmonberries are! I loved the 1991 movie Salmonberries with k d lang.

Well now I have to search for the movie, I've never heard of that either!

Fitting end to the Forks chronicles. The sad tribute to a local tragedy, and the amazing beauty of the area. And Salmonberries too, they are oddly tasty. The tent looks like it might have had a pretty good wind battering, but not floated there. Just doing my sleuthing here. So I'm guess abandoned homeless camp, or along the line of what @denmarkguy discussed below. There are many folks living in the woods down this way further south. You have to be a bit wary when wandering. As he says, a few are not quite all that friendly. To be nice about it.
Thanks for more views from your epic journey. Such a road trip, long, and of course, always too short. Cheers on a Sunday.

Cheers to you my friend! Just got back from a day out at a local brewery with mom, was super fun, I'm sure I'll post about it soon- for now I'm going to enjoy my buzz :)

Awesome! I meant, the whole series in general, not about the death. It's a shame Jake Simons didn't make it. With regard to the tent, maybe it's not yet abandoned and the owners just went for a leisurely hike?

Thank you!

Other than the tent there was no sign of occupation. No recent campfire stuffs or anything else, just an empty tent. Between the memorial, the weird carcasses sign and the abandoned tent it really looked like something shady went down there!

"Mysterious deaths" are strangely common around these parts.

Drownings are not that unusual; those rivers can suddenly come up several feet in no time at all if there's a sudden downpour at higher elevations... and it can RAIN in Forks!

Because it's kind of remote out there on the Olympic Peninsula (this doesn't really get published much) we also have quite a few "fringe dwellers" who come here to primarily be away from people and limelight. Quite a few of them have mental illnesses, or are a little unbalanced. And quite a few are "tweakers" and they sometimes "go walkabout" and come to a sudden end.

That's a particularly nice shrine, though... suggests this was someone truly cared about.

Is that where you're from? It is definitely remote, but unbelievably beautiful. The beaches took my breath away, I could have just sat and looked for days on end.

Actually there was something about the spot by the river, an energy that made my husband declare that it wouldn't be a place to go at night- due to fringe dwellers.

Looks like the batmobile under that tent!! You found the batcave!!

Methinks you might be right!!

The only thing I know about digitalis is that it's a serious poison, like lethal, which fits right in with the whole post I suppose! Were those flowers part of the memorial?

I didn't know that, but it does fit in! No, they were all around the area, though maybe at one time- it wasn't a recent death so no fresh flowers.

a sad death indeed. and are you sure that no none was in the tent did you poke it with a stick 😆

LOL! Nope, no stick poking, but our dog ran right over it and there was no movement....I really hope no one was in it! Shiver!

I guess your dog would have sniffed them out so I would not worry !

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