SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
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WEDNESDAY, September 24, 2014 VOL. 47, NO. 39 75¢
Human remains found at Moran shrouded in mystery Cali Bagby/Staff photos and Contributed photos
Far left: The body of Mehmet Tokgozoglu (pictured at bottom left) was discovered near a walking trail around Cascade Lake. Left: A newspaper found with Tokgozoglu.
by CALI BAGBY Assistant Editor
A man walks into a popular park in June. He has a tent and a backpack that includes only a few items and heads for a remote area of the forest. He never leaves the park. His body is found months later. His death is a mystery and his life turns out to be shrouded in a fog of unanswered questions. No one seems to know how the man got to Orcas or even his whereabouts for the last year. “We’ve run into a lot of dead ends,” said San Juan County Coroner Randy Gaylord.
Election 2014 | Preview of measures, races by SCOTT RASMUSSEN Journal editor
Midterm elections rarely draw the big-time voter turnout typical of a presidential election year. But with three contested county office races, including sheriff, and no fewer than six local property tax or bond measures on the Nov. 4 election ballot, San Juan County voters have plenty to pay attention to in the run-up to the 2014 general election. “That’s an unusual number,” Auditor Milene Henley said of the property tax measures. “No one would be affected by all six, of course; the most would be three (Friday Harbor). But at least one or two would apply to everyone. I’d say that’s probably the most interesting thing about the ballot.” But certainly not the only thing. In fact, rules governing firearms, purchase or possession of, could become more onerous or less restrictive depending on the outcome of statewide Initiative 591 and Initiative 594.
And, the Legislature would be required to allocate enough funding to reduce class size and increase staff support for all K-12 schools – more for high-poverty area schools – should Initiative 1351 pass. In the federal arena, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, must fend off a challenge from Republican opponent B.J. Guillot to secure an eighth consecutive two-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Closer to home, incumbent state Rep. Kristine Lytton, D-Anacortes, is vying against San Juan Island’s own Daniel Miller, Jr., Republican Party challenger, in the 40th District legislative race. The outcome of the November election will also determine who will manage three county offices for the next four years. The treasurer’s race pits two candidates making a first-ever bid for public office, Tony Fyrqvist and Rhonda Pederson, while two-term incumbent Joan White faces political newcomer Nancy Vejvoda in the non-partisan contest for clerk of the court (the position oversees business affairs of
superior and juvenile courts). In arguably the highest profile of the local races, first-term incumbent Rob Nou takes on Deputy Ron Krebs in the race for San Juan County Sheriff. Nou garnered 66 percent of ballots cast in 2010 to earn a four-year term in the top tier of local law enforcement. A repeated landslide appears unlikely this year, however, as the San Juan County Deputy Sheriff ’s Guild, which represents the department’s sworn officers and dispatch staff, 28 in all, up-ended the status quo last week by throwing its support behind Krebs’ candidacy, endorsing the eight-year department veteran and first-time sheriff candidate. Since pocketbook issues tend to draw voters and with a half-dozen local property tax or bond measures on the ballot, turnout for the Nov. 4 could be big, midterm or not. All voters in all precincts will have opportunity to weigh in on San Juan County Proposition 1, which would replace and continue for anoth-
SEE ELECTION, PAGE 3
A fisherman discovered the decomposed human remains on Sept. 6. The body was found – with a wallet – in a collapsed tent located off-trail in a secluded area of Moran State Park near the bridge over the Cascade Lake lagoon. Moran State Park is a 5,579-acre camping park with five freshwater lakes and over 30 miles of hiking trails. On Sept. 16, the remains were positively identified as Mehmet Tokgozoglu, a 51-year-old design engineer born in Kansas, according to Gaylord. Although the body was severely decomposed and partially skeletonized, one hand was in good enough condition to pull fingerprints. Tokgozoglu worked for Raytheon, a defense contractor and industrial corporation, until 2006, and as he had a security clearance, his fingerprints were found in the FBI’s database. Gaylord worked with Snohomish Medical Examiner’s Office to positively match the prints. As for the
SEE REMAINS, PAGE 6
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