Human skull found in Big Lava Bed area within Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Human remains discovered Aug. 10 by a hiker in eastern Skamania County may belong to a 31-year-old Portland man who went missing in 2013.

According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, the hiker was in the Big Lava Bed area within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest when they discovered a human skull. The hiker recorded the GPS location and then notified authorities.

A deputy searched the area the following day but was unable to locate the skull. The hiker returned to the area Aug. 15 with a Skamania County sergeant, and the skull was recovered, the sheriff’s office said.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, it is believed the remains belong to a hiker that went missing in 2013. The missing hiker was last observed in the Big Lava Bed and, after numerous coordinated search efforts, was never located,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The sheriff’s office told KATU-TV that the remains may be those of Kristopher Zitzewitz, who went missing after becoming separated from his hiking partner in late September 2013.

More than 100 volunteers and a helicopter helped search for Zitzewitz, but no trace of him was found before efforts were suspended due to inclement weather in October 2013, according to The Charley Project.

The skull and other remains found in the area were taken to the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office for definitive identification, the sheriff’s office said.