PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man whose body was found near the Dougan Falls Bridge Saturday morning likely died a violent death no more than 8 hours before he was found.
The Clark County Medical Examiner determined the man, 40-year-old Christopher M. Libert of Portland, “died as a result of homicidal violence,” the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in a release on Monday. They later released that Libert was both stabbed and shot.
Dougan Falls is about 17 miles northeast of Washougal, Washington.
“We received a call of a camper that had located what he thought was a body near the water by the Dougan Falls Bridge,” Undersheriff Pat Bond told KOIN 6 News. Deputies found the man and Bond said it didn’t ” look like he’s been there very long.”
Authorities said no one has been arrested and no suspects identified, but they don’t believe there’s any threat to the public. Investigators later said they believe this incident “to be isolated within a small circle of individuals.”
Bond said there is a camp ground just north of where the body was found. “It was a camper that had stopped by the bridge area and located the remains.”
Dougan Creek Campground host Edward Young said he got a knock on his door around 9 a.m. Saturday.
“One of my campers over here were out exploring first thing in the morning and they found a body near the bridge, not in the water but near the bridge,” Young told KOIN 6 News. He said the campers thought the man was asleep or fell but “they saw the pool of blood and came here immediately to use the phone and call the police.”
He added it’s unusual for something like this to happen in this area.
“People come here to enjoy themselves and relax, no problems,” he said. “You have to wonder why but you can’t spend your life worrying about things because you’ll have a miserable life.”
On Monday Heidi Witnik was hiking with her family in what she called “a nice small community.”
The death, she said, is “crazy. Everyone is so nice out here.”
Young said he’s anxious to hear what happened but said he feels safe. He looked around at the sunny skies and said, “Like today, you can’t go wrong. This is beautiful.”
Bond said the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Team is helping with the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 509.427.9490.
