Body of missing Spanaway man found in Elbe Hills area

The body of Chang Soo Kim, a Spanaway man who went missing about two weeks ago, was found about 5 p.m. Saturday in the Elbe Hills area, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department announced via social media.

The department, which credited volunteers with the Washington Explorer Search and Rescue Kitsap unit for finding him, said the body of the 72-year-old man was found in “deep mud during a grid search of a swamp at the bottom of a valley in the Elbe Hills area.”

The News Tribune reported Friday that Kim went missing May 25 while picking ferns near Ashford.

Searchers found footprints and Kim’s backpack in a ravine on May 27.

Search efforts were suspended on May 29, then resumed Saturday.

This story was originally published June 9, 2019 at 11:00 AM.