Skamania deputies say remains of missing mushroom picker found

An Oregon man who went missing in Gifford Pinchot National Forest nearly two weeks ago has been found dead, according to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

Around 2:20 p.m. Wednesday, the sheriff’s office received a report of a body found off of Forest Service Road 60, about 10 miles north of Carson near a deserted hunting camp, the agency said in a news release. The remains of Richard L. Sugai, 78, of Beaverton, Ore., were discovered about a half-mile from where he was last seen.

Vancouver’s Glenn Byrd reported that a man had stopped at another hunting camp nearby and said he found a body in a wooded area, the news release said. The man then left the scene while Byrd called 911.

Deputies responded and began searching the area. Meanwhile, the man who found the body was located a short time later by the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office while driving toward Trout Lake, the news release said. The man, identified as Sarath Nel of Portland, was escorted back to the site, where he directed deputies to Sugai’s body.

The body was taken to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Sugai was reported overdue from a mushroom picking daytrip in the late afternoon of Oct. 19. He was in the area with family, who has reportedly picked mushrooms there for decades, according to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

His family told deputies that Sugai had a condition that required daily medication. He was dressed for the torrential rain, but his clothing was darkly colored.

Deputies suspended their search for Sugai on Tuesday.