From MSNBC.com:
Man sought in killing of Rainier ranger reportedly found dead
By msnbc.com staff and news servicesUpdated at 2:05 p.m. ET: A body believed to be that of Benjamin Colton Barnes has been found, the Washington State Patrol tweets.
Updated at 1:40 p.m. ET: Pierce County officials say the Iraq War vet being sought in the killing of a Mount Rainier National Park ranger has been found dead in a ditch near his car at the crime scene, KING5 TV reports.
That remains - as of this writing - unconfirmed. The most recent news that I've found so far is the following, although it would not be unusual for the shooter / shootist to kill himself after a mass shooting.
Once again - a good reason to keep people with mental illness issues from being a danger to others and to themselves, with firearms. Because despite the fact that some of our readers would rather see people who are dangerously mentally ill have guns than have a single questionable person denied a firearm, that is a bad position to hold, a position which results in people being killed, families disrupted, and needless death and injury.
From MSNBC.com:
Police Closing In on Mt. Rainier Shooting Suspect
By COLLEEN CURRY, JOHN SANTUCCI and NEAL KARLINSKY (@NealKarlinsky) Jan. 2, 2012Authorities in pursuit of the man suspected of killing a Washington State ranger in Mount Rainier National Park said they are closing in on him because they have snow shoes and he doesn't.
"The more he is unprepared, the more it will help us," one official said, adding that Benjamin Colton Barnes has a "couple of hours lead" on the ground teams chasing him.
Barnes is suspected of shooting and killing 34-year-old park ranger Margaret Anderson, who blocked Barnes' path after he entered the park Sunday morning and sped past a checkpoint, Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said. Barnes is also suspected of shooting four other individuals that morning, at a house party in Skyway, Wash., before entering the park. He has been on the lam since Sunday morning.
Despite having a "couple of hours lead" on the ground crews, police said that searchers with snow equipment, including snow shoes, are making quick progress honing in on Barnes, who they believe is in an area of the park where he is in chest-deep snow and is wading in and out of stream beds. Police are also using helicopters and infrared radar technology to locate the suspect.
Pierce County Sheriff's Barnes is a military veteran who has a history of criminal violence, including threatening the mother of his child with guns during a bitter custody battle, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
The park remains closed today after 125 visitors were evacuated under the cover of dark early this morning. They had spent the night in the police-protected visitor's center, which had food and water but no cots, pillows or sleeping bags. They were taken to a fire house outside of the park upon their evacuation.
Three small groups of hikers who are making an ascent of the mountain remain in the park.
Anderson was a married mother of two daughters, ages 2 and 4.
Police have been searching the snowy park since early Sunday, using infrared radar, aircraft and ground units to try and track the suspect. Lee Taylor, a spokeswoman for the park, said 111 law enforcement officers from the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Patrol, FBI, and Pierce and Louis counties are assisting in the search.
