Pepper Fisher
CLALLAM COUNTY – The body of a young woman was recovered Friday near Hurricane Ridge Road, believed by Sheriff’s investigators to be the victim of suicide.
On August 28, Olympic National Park officials made note of car that had been parked overnight at the Morse Creek Overlook turnout on Hurricane Ridge Road. They found it belonged to 22-year-old Chante Robideau who, a couple of days earlier, had been reported as a missing person to Elwha Police. By that Friday afternoon a group of Robideau’s family and friends met at the car to search for her.
Her body was found that evening on what investigators describe as a logging road less than a mile away. Sheriff’s Sgt. John Hollis believes she hiked to the spot before using a rope and a tree to end her life.
“There is appropriate ligature marks for what she had done and no other signs of any struggle or foul play or anything like that. And they did find a note. They said it’s in her writing. So we have that in our evidence too, and we’re just waiting on the autopsy results.”
Although the location of the body was originally thought to be on Park land and the investigation was initiated by ONP officials, GPS soon showed the area to be just outside the Park on county land in the Sheriff’s jurisdiction.
Robideau’s body was removed by a Search and Rescue ground crew.