By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau
LIHU‘E, Kaua‘i — Investigators returned to Kalalau Valley yesterday to try to solve the mystery of a man’s death there Monday night.
Detective Lt. Bill Ching said they have no identification and minimal belongings of the man, described only as a Caucasian in his late 30s to early 40s.
A team made up of police officers and fire rescue workers recovered the body Tuesday.
"He was found without anything. Without a backpack, without ID," Ching said.
Other campers in the remote Na Pali Coast State Park valley had no solid information, but gave police a variety of names and nicknames.
Ching said police have a possible first and last name and are trying to make contact with authorities on the Mainland to see if they can confirm the identity.
"We’re trying to find his hometown," Ching said.
Fingerprints were to be taken from the body yesterday, and an autopsy was scheduled today.
Ching said the man’s clothed body was found Tuesday morning on the sand at the waterline. The body was wet, but police do not believe he drowned.
Wounds found on the body could be consistent with homicide or with a suicide, Ching said. He would not describe them.
"There’s just a big question about how he died.," Ching said.
Investigators found only a blanket at the man’s campsite.
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