Missing man’s body recovered on North Beach

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A 41-year-old Port Townsend man reported missing by his wife the evening of Dec. 28 was found dead on Dec. 29 on the 300-foot beachside cliffs off Elmira Road after a citizen spotted the body from above and guided search teams to it.

Because of the rising tide and rough uphill terrain, rescue crews had to float the body of Warren Shelley-Rose on a raft to a rescue boat for removal.

At this point there are no indications of foul play, Port Townsend Police Chief Mike Evans said, but the investigation is ongoing. Shelley-Rose’s Facebook profile included reference to a fundraiser for “Warren’s Brain Healing” which had raised more than $20,000 in the fall of 2018, indicating that Shelley-Rose had been receiving treatment for glioblastoma, a brain tumor.

Police said Shelley-Rose’s wife had first called around 8 p.m. on Dec. 28 to report she had not seen him since 11:30 a.m. that day.

When she returned home from the store, he was not there, Evans said.

Although police conducted an initial neighborhood search Saturday evening, Evans said the wife delayed filing a formal missing person report, which would trigger a broader search, because her husband often liked to walk Cappy’s Trails behind the fairgrounds and would sometimes fall asleep outside.

To reach the cliff, he would have walked about 2 miles through Cappy’s Trails and then on to the cliffside area known locally as “End of the World.”

When he did not return Sunday morning, she went to the police department at 10 a.m. to request the beginning of a formal search, Evans said.

Search and Rescue operations were to begin near Shelley-Rose’s house near Blue Heron Middle School, but at about 12:40 p.m. a caller at “End of the World” reported seeing a body lying face-up in the sand partway down the cliff.

At that point, Evans said, the search was diverted to North Beach.

At 1:33 p.m. an East Jefferson Fire Rescue boat delivered search and rescue crews to the beach.

Officials declared him dead at 2:05 p.m.

Keppie Keplinger of the Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management said Shelley-Rose’s body was about 100 feet above the beach on a spot where the cliff had slumped, creating a bench. She said he’s believed to have fallen from about 200 feet above where he was found.

The caller said they had attempted to call out to him but received no response and saw no movement.

The water approach was used because of the instability of the cliff. “It’s really dangerous to rappel down from that area,” said Emily Stewart, public information officer with EJFR. “It was the easiest and safest solution.”

The body was towed from shore to the East Jefferson Fire Rescue boat because the tides were too high to get it off the beach from any other direction.

According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s office, an autopsy is to take place on Dec. 31, by a  Snohomish County doctor. It is unknown when the results of the autopsy will be made public.