Deputies found the body of a 31-year-old Gainesville native more than two weeks after he disappeared during a camping trip in Washington state.
Officials ruled Cornelius “Casey” Zippro’s death a suicide, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Jeff Parks told AJC.com.
Zippro was camping with a friend June 16 when he went missing at the Colonial Creek Campground in North Cascades National Park on June 16. He was reported missing the next day, according to a statement from National Park Service spokeswoman Denise Shultz.
According to the Bellingham Herald, his friend went off for a hike on his own following an argument between the two. When he returned, Zippro was no longer at the campsite, although his tent and backpacked remained.
While Zippro had been living in Seattle, his family lives in Gainesville.
“Nobody understands the pain,” Zippro’s mother, Dawn Pugh, told Channel 2 Action News.
The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife aided the National Park Service with the search.
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