Wsp Trying To Identify Body; Victim May Be Manson Man

Investigators were trying to determine Wednesday whether an apparent homicide victim whose burned body was found near Blewett Pass was a Manson, Wash., man reported missing over the weekend.

The Washington State Patrol’s crime lab will conduct DNA analysis of the remains to determine whether the victim was Jose Librado Hernandez, Chelan County Coroner Gerald Rappe said.

Hernandez, 32, disappeared from his home Saturday night after going out to help a stranger who claimed to have car problems, sheriff’s officials said.

Evidence at the site where the body was found indicates the remains may be those of Hernandez, Rappe said. He declined to elaborate.

A U.S. Forest Service worker found the body Tuesday near a logging road about 100 yards off U.S. Highway 97, said J.R. Winn, operations chief for the Chelan County sheriff’s office.

An autopsy concluded the victim had died of a gunshot wound to the head and was dead when the body was set on fire, Rappe said.