LEWIS COUNTY, WASHINGTON STATE: The devastated family of a 49-year-old hiker, who was found dead next to his dog, have sued Lewis County in a last-ditch effort to ascertain the cause of his death after examiners found a bullet in his body. Aron Christensen and his four-month-old Australian Shepherd puppy, Buzzo, were found dead at around 4 pm on August 20, 2022, on a trail three to four miles away from Walupt Lake on a trail near Randle, Washington.
Christensen had been camping around the trail with his friends till August 19 when he decided to ditch the group to go on a 13-mile solo hike with his dog. They left at about 9.30 am with the intention of coming back for supper the following day. But no one heard or saw Christensen after that solo hike. The sole account of what would have happened to the hiker was provided by a 19-year-old boy, Ethan Asbach, who subsequently admitted to firing a shot after hearing some suspicious noises while hiking with his unnamed 17-year-old girlfriend.
When did Aron Christensen die?
Asbach told the officials that he and his girlfriend had been strolling down the route after 9 pm when they heard growling and fired a single shot at an animal. He also claimed that he tried to scare away the animal by screaming at him but he continued to charge in their direction. But when the pair got closer to the animal, they realized that it was a puppy, and discovered a dead man next to him. In his statement, Asbach claimed that he noticed a bullet hole in the hiker’s chest. The frightened pair then left the scene and hiked onward into the night before exiting the woods on August 20. Christensen and Buzzo's bodies were later discovered by another hiker, who alerted the Lewis County sheriff's office that afternoon, according to Daily Mail.
The first official to arrive at the scene was Deputy Andrew Scrivner, who noticed a wound in Christensen’s chest and spent 25 minutes searching for a shell casing. ''It is difficult to tell if it was from a bullet or from a tree limb or stick that may have protruded into his body,'' he wrote in a report, seen by the Wall Street Journal, upon examining Christensen's body. Scrivner decided there was no suspicious cause of death, so told dispatchers to inform detectives they weren't needed. The Forest Service then assisted in removing Christensen's body off the route. Christensen's brother Corey recently claimed that an officer indicated his sibling could have had a heart attack brought on by ''laced marijuana."
'No one feels sympathy for Ethan'
Deputies continued their investigation on August 21 when Asbach’s father Michael came forward to notify officials about the shooting. Scrivner eventually made contact with Ethan and stated in his report that he was acting nervously and seemed upset. Corey didn't learn about the alternate narrative regarding Asbach and the 9mm firearm until two weeks after his brother’s death. ''It's a huge burden for the Christensen family, but no one feels sympathy for Ethan and the things he had to go through. There was never ever ill intent out of that kid," Michael told Wall Street Journal.
A ray of clarification in Christensen and Buzzo's death finally came after a slew of repeated autopsies. Megan Quinn, the forensic pathologist who performed Christensen's autopsy, subsequently admitted to prosecutors that she believed the investigator wanted her autopsy report to support a certain theory. However, when her autopsy was finally released in October, it listed Christensen's cause of death as a ''gunshot wound'' and classified it as a ''homicide." Christensen would have been alive when the gunshot impacted, she said, adding that there was evidence of a heart attack within 12 hours of his passing.
Why did prosecutors drop charges against Asbach?
Local veterinarian Brandy Fay also examined Buzzo’s body and determined that he died after being stabbed. She told the Journal that she was shocked to learn of Asbach's story because there was no sign of a gunshot wound. Prosecutors and sheriff's deputies then asked another veterinarian in the Portland area, Kris Otteman, for a second opinion after Fay examined the dog. During her examination, Otteman reportedly found an exit wound on Buzzo's right side. Another key difference in their findings was a broken rib in Buzzo's torso. She pointed out that there was no blood surrounding the exit incision, indicating that it had been made after the dog had died. However, even though the Lewis County sheriff's office had suggested charges of manslaughter and animal cruelty against Asbach, local prosecutors announced earlier this year that they would not press the accusations against the teen.
''The responding deputy made the obvious error when indicating detectives were not needed to respond to the report of a gunshot victim,'' the county's top prosecutor, Jonathan Meyer, wrote in a letter to the sheriff's department. ''The old adage of 'investigate it like it's a homicide until it isn't' was not followed here. We can only speculate about what might have been. This Office must base its decision on the evidence we have," he continued. Soon later, in May, Christensen's family filed a $20 million lawsuit against the county, alleging that county officials botched the investigation into Aron's death and tampered with Buzzo. The family claims the Lewis County Sheriff's Office ''maliciously damaged the estate's property, one deceased puppy, in order to sabotage a criminal investigation."
