Remains of unknown body are identified

Medical examiners have identified the skeletal remains of a body found February 21, 2013, near Brookfield, Wahkiakum County Sheriff Mark Howie said this week.

The deceased was Molly Waddington, a 44-year-old Kelso woman who had vanished the previous year, Howie said.

Initial efforts using DNA were unsuccessful because the remains were just scattered bones, Howie said, but updated technology was able to match them to a family and lead to identification.

The cause of death is still unknown, Howie said.

Also this week, Howie recognized and honored the volunteer Wahkiakum County Search and Rescue (SAR) unit for their role in finding the remains.

Neither the sheriff's office nor the coroner's office could muster enough personnel in 2013 for the necessary search of the woods for clues, Howie said in a news release.

"But the county's volunteer search and rescue squad was ready to step in," Howie said. ""The sheriff's office only had six sworn officers to cover all shifts. The coroner's office was our prosecutor, part-time, and one volunteer. There was no way we could do the thorough search we needed to do with the personnel we had available.

"Search and Rescue came through with 15 people, all experienced in the woods, and to make sure they didn't miss anything, 10 of them came back in March and made an additional search."

"These folks are trained to hunt for living people," Coroner Dan Bigelow added. "They didn't have to respond just to find skeletal fragments. It wasn't their job. But they did it anyway, out of simple human decency."

To the Search and Rescue members, it was just another chance to contribute, Howie said.

"Wahkiakum County doesn't have the resources of a lot of bigger places," said Search and Rescue Coordinator Beau Renfro. "So we all have to pitch in. That's why we do this."

Howie said Tuesday his is pleased the county board of commissioners budgeted money for an additional deputy sheriff. A corrections officer/reserve deputy has been chosen to fill the position, and he will attend Washington Police Academy training starting in March.