A manhunt is currently underway inside Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park where a man shot and killed a park ranger and then fled into the woods.
No video surveillance has circulated at this time and no description was given for the gunman.
Mount Rainier National Park spokeswoman Lee Taylor told CNN :
“It began as just a normal traffic stop” around 10:30 a.m. PT (1:30 p.m. ET), Taylor explained to CNN. But the suspect didn’t heed a request to pull over, prompting a ranger to radio ahead requesting assistance.
Park ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, responded to that call and set up her patrol vehicle as a roadblock.
“When he arrived at that spot, he got out (of his car) and fatally shot her.”
Mount Rainier is an active volcano that surrounded 14,410 acres while the larger Cascade Range comprises 235,625 acres.
In the meantime entrances throughout the park were closed on Sunday and 85 visitors to the park were being held at the main visitor center until authorities believed it was safe for them to drive out of the park unabated.
Margaret Anderson, 34, was the mother of a 4-year-old and 1-year-old, she is also survived by her husband, a fellow park ranger.
Taylor ended with a few words about the Park Ranger:
“It’s a horrible tragedy (and) a terrible loss of life of someone who had dedicated herself to serving the public.”
Our condolences go out to the entire Anderson family, their friends and her fellow park rangers.
