Our 24-year old males seem to have some pent up aggression (cf previous story about the 24-year old arsonist suspected of committing 53 arsons)

Body found in Mt. Rainier park is Benjamin Barnes, suspect in killing of ranger

Barnes was a 24-year-old Iraq war vet

And one crazy mother-fucking son of a bitch

Q13 FOX News: January 2, 2012 -- MOUNT RAINIER

A coordinated search effort involving more than 200 law enforcement personnel was launched after a Mount Rainier National Park ranger was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop Sunday morning.

Washington State Patrol sent out a message via Twitter at 10:58 a.m. Monday that said they had found a body in the park.

About 2:20 p.m. Monday, Chuck Young with the National Park Service confirmed that a tactical team made their way to the body and confirmed that it was suspect Benjamin Colton Barnes. A cause of death has not been released, but it appears that Barnes suffered from exposure as he was wearing only jeans, a T-shirt and one shoe, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said.

Barnes' body was found in Paradise Creek above Narada Falls. Park Superintendent Randy King said that they do not plan on opening the park Tuesday to the public.

Benjamin Colton Barnes, is also a suspect in a shooting in a Skyway apartment that left four people injured on New Year’s Eve.

Barnes, 24, is a veteran of the Iraq war who friends said has a large collection of guns in his King County home. He was discharged from the Army in 2009 after a DUI, according to JBLM spokesman Major Chris Ophardt. He also had two restraining orders filed against him by the mother of his one-year-old child.

The shooting happened near the Longmire Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park just before 11 a.m. Sunday.

“The incident began when a car failed to stop at a required tire chain checkpoint,” Rainier National Park spokesperson Lee Taylor said.

“A ranger tried to pull the car over and when it failed to stop, park ranger Margaret Anderson established a road block with her vehicle. The assailant jumped from his car and opened fire with a shotgun, fatally wounding Ranger Anderson.”

Detective Troyer said the suspect drew his weapon and opened fire before Anderson had a chance to react.

"He immediately made a u-turn, came out, and opened fire on her," Troyer said. "Multiple rounds in the side of her car — she didn't have a chance, she never even exited the vehicle."

After the shooting, the suspect fled into the woods on foot.

Before responding officers and rangers could reach Anderson, the suspect fired at them using a long rifle. No one else was hit by the gunfire, but police were kept at bay by the suspect for 90 minutes.

By the time help arrived on the scene, Anderson had died.

Inside the suspect’s abandoned vehicle officers found multiple weapons, ammunition, body armor and survival gear.

Rainier National Park Ranger Kevin Bacher said the suspect may have been planning to hide in the woods after the New Year's Eve shooting in Skyway.

The park was closed following the shooting and troopers at the gate were turning visitors away.

At least 125 people who were in the park spent the night in the Jackson Visitor Center for their safety. They were escorted from the park by armed officers early Monday morning.

National Park Service rangers, Pierce County Sheriff's deputies, Washington State Patrol troopers and the FBI are searching for the suspect. A fixed wing aircraft from Oregon as well as a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter, each equipped with heat-seeking cameras, have also been dispatched to the area to help locate the suspect in the mountain terrain.

The sheriff’s SWAT team is not trained or equipped to track a suspect in snow and rugged terrain, but they have been outfitted by park rangers with specialized gear and information.

“We are very lucky that the rangers have snowshoes for us and the rangers are doing most of the coordinating,” Troyer said. “It’s going to take all the agencies working together to make this work.”

Searchers have located footprints, but believe the suspect has been going in and out of the water in an attempt to cover his tracks.

Anderson was 34 years old and a resident of Eatonville. She was the mother of two young daughters, ages 4 and 2, and worked as a ranger for the Park Service for about four years. Anderson was married to a fellow ranger and her husband was working Sunday at another location in the park when the shooting took place.

A Facebook page in Anderson's memory has also been created.

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