The body of Seattle deputy fire chief Jay Schreckengost was taken to Seattle on Friday from Kittitas County.
The Kittitas County coroner said Schreckengost’s death was due to “multiple blunt force trauma.”
He suffered numerous injuries, including a broken wrist and broken spine, in what officials believe was a fall down a steep hillside, where he was found on Sunday in the Cliffdell area.
Officials said there was snow on the ground when the chief went hunting for elk on Nov. 2 “in that already rugged and dangerous terrain.” He was found “near the bottom of a sharp and broken slope about 700 feet in elevation.”
“It’s believed the Chief slipped or fell down a part of that slope into terrain where he could neither climb back up nor safely descend. Another fall brought him near the bottom of the slope and caused a fatal spinal fracture,” according to a release from the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
It was also an area officials say could not be navigated by those searching for him without climbing equipment and expertise.
Sixty different agencies and organizations searched for the chief for nearly two weeks before finding him.
Search and rescuers had to fight the weather conditions while searching for him, including the cold, wind, rain and snow in the area.
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