His body was found partial submerged in water in a creek on Mt. Ranier. There was snow several feet deep on either side of the creek. Barnes' cold, and stiff body showed no signs of suicide. He died of exposure wearing only a T-shirt and jeans. He was also missing one shoe. He probably fell into the creek while trying to make his way through the deep and blowing snow.
Imagine being out in your snow shoes hiking across Mt. Ranier and coming across the cold, stiff body of a young man lying in the creek, his wet shirt clinging to his well muscled body and ice crystals glistening on his skin. You carefully climb down into the ravine of snow to investigate, find his body to be very rigid and, turning him over, notice his face and perfect lips are blue from the cold. You lean down close to check for any fleeting vital signs. Taking your glove off, you press your fingers against his thick neck to check for a pulse while you look to see if his chest is rising even a little. Alas, while the young man was not yet frozen solid, he had clearly passed on from exposure, his lack of warm clothing making it seem as though he had been dropped there from a warmer climate. Now, you need only to notify the authorities of your find......when you are ready to. ;-)
