A male in his early 20s found dead on Lake Whatcom Saturday evening appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Whatcom County Sheriff’s officials say.
The victim, whose identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin, had been listed as a missing person in Snohomish County for two days, Sheriff’s Office Chief Inspector James Triplett said in a release.
His body was found with significant head injuries, floating on a raft, just before 8 p.m. July 6 near North Shore Drive, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The reporting party who came across the raft initially thought the victim was hit by a boat. But police suspect the victim committed suicide as he was found with a single gunshot wound to the head. A firearm was recovered.
Triplett said the incident was unrelated to another Lake Whatcom incident reported around the same time as the body recovery. At 7:26 p.m., authorities received a report of a hit-and-run boating collision on the lake. That collision, involving a boat and a personal water craft, which fled the scene, is still being investigated.
“Significant damage” was done to the boat, Triplett said.
The people who found the body in the raft brought it to a private dock in the 1800 block of Lakeside Avenue because they saw emergency crews on the scene responding to the earlier boat collision report, Triplett said. The Whatcom County Medical Examiner took custody of the body.
Multiple emergency medical responders and WCSO vehicles were parked along Lakeside Avenue on the west side of the lake throughout Saturday evening. In total, five agencies were involved: Bellingham Fire Department, North Whatcom Fire and Rescue, Whatcom County Community Support, Sheriff’s Office Patrol and Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit.
This is a developing story. Check for updates.
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline phone number is 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated James Triplett’s title, who is a Chief Inspector with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. The story was updated to reflect this change at 2:55 p.m. on July 7, 2024. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
