The two still-unidentified bodies found on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior are a father and son who died in a murder-suicide, according to a Michigan county medical examiner.
MLive first reported the information June 25, citing an interview with Michael McAllister, Keweenaw County Michigan’s medical examiner. McAllister told the news outlet it was not clear whether the father or son died first. The manners of deaths have yet to be released.
Rangers at the national park, which is only accessible by small aircraft or an hours-long boat ride, received two separate reports of two people found dead at a remote backcountry campground on June 8, according to the National Park Service.
Two rangers subsequently hiked 11 miles through the night to reach the bodies, according to the park service. The bodies were found at the South Lake Desor Campground, and the park service notified the public of the deaths on June 10.
Next of kin have been notified and the identities of the deceased have yet to be provided to anyone outside of the investigation team, a National Parks Service spokeswoman said in an email to the Journal Sentinel.
The autopsies were performed by the Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to McAllister. He said the Wisconsin medical examiner was likely selected to conduct the autopsies because of a shortage of board-certified pathologists in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, according to his interview with MLive.
Cristina Figueroa Soto, the Dane County office’s director of operations, told the Journal Sentinel all inquiries should be directed to the National Park Service and would not confirm the Dane County Medical Examiner performed the autopsies.
The National Park Service is investigating the deaths with assistance from other state, local, and federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Jordan Hall, a spokesman with the FBI’s Detroit field office, confirmed members of the FBI in Michigan had gone to Isle Royale following the discovery of the bodies.
Isle Royale is located closer to the Canadian shoreline than it is to Michigan’s, 15 miles compared to 56 miles from Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Roughly 20,000 to 25,000 people visit the park annually, according to the park service.
Isle Royale National Park is open annually from April 16 through Oct. 31. The island is closed from Nov. 1 through April 15 due to extreme winter weather conditions and for the safety and protection of visitors.
Jessica Van Egeren is a general assignment reporter and assistant breaking news editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at 608-320-3535 or jvanegeren@gannett.com.
This story has been updated to add video.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Michigan medical examiner says father and son died in murder-suicide on Isle Royale
Reporting by Jessica Van Egeren, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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