Mukilteo man likely died from hypothermia on Rainier

LONGMIRE — A Mukilteo man who died on Mount Rainier apparently became disoriented, lost the trail and was trying to return to his car before he died.

Rescue crews spent about two days looking for Devin Ossman, 45, after they found his car at the Kautz Creek trailhead Monday night near Longmire on Mount Rainier, said Kevin Bacher, a National Park Service spokesman.

His body was recovered just after 11 a.m. Wednesday about 1 1/2 miles from the trailhead, Bacher said.

It appeared that Ossman was trying to make his way back to his car when he likely became hypothermic and succumbed to the elements, Bacher said.

There were no obvious signs of trauma but crews did see evidence on the snow-covered route that Ossman stumbled and tripped many times, likely a result of hypothermia, he said.

Ossman apparently hiked along the trail to about 4,200 feet elevation before he veered to the west and descended to about 3,000 feet in the Kautz Creek valley.

That’s where the footprints became erratic, a sign that things went terribly wrong.

When people become hypothermic, they typically start to shiver. As hypothermia progresses, people often lose their motor skills, can slur their speech and may become confused, Bacher said.

“That would explain why it appears that he was stumbling and falling a lot,” Bacher said.

Crews expected to bring Ossman’s body out of the back­country Wednesday.

Ossman was reported missing to Mukilteo police by his wife on Monday. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a flannel shirt and suede jacket, and was not believed to be equipped for overnight stays in backcountry. He went hiking in the snow without snowshoes, Bacher said.

He is the first person to die on Mount Rainier since December, when a Brier man was buried in a snowslide near Panorama Point, Bacher said.

The death is a tragic reminder of the importance of always hiking with the proper equipment and leaving a plan, including an anticipated return time, before setting out to the backcountry, Bacher said.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.