WA - Daren Olin, 52, fatally shot, King County trailhead to Poo Poo Point, Issaquah, 24 Jan 2021

[bruisedorange88]

Issaquah man recalls 'odd' encounter with a stranger claiming his father was shot at Poo Poo Point

This is a strange one. this man was found shot in the head at a VERY popular King County trailhead to Poo Poo Point. It looks like he may have worked a lucrative IT job at Microsoft. A person claiming to be his son came to a nearby home and told the homeowner that his dad had been shot and to call 911. Homeowner did that and then waited with the man until the cops came.
As always, information has been scarce with this case and I haven't heard anything since the initial reporting.
Poo Poo is probably the most popular trailhead in the Seattle area but what would a man with a "high up tech job" and his son be doing out there in the middle of the night?
Also, the police shut down the area for 3 days which to me indicates that the obvious assumption that the son did it MIGHT not hold up or that it at least wasn't cut and dried.

This area is popular but is within a pretty solid area of forest.Despite it being a remote area it doesn't sound like any effort was made to hide the body

 

[Kk1]

Issaquah man recalls 'odd' encounter with a stranger claiming his father was shot at Poo Poo Point

This is a strange one. this man was found shot in the head at a VERY popular King County trailhead to Poo Poo Point. It looks like he may have worked a lucrative IT job at Microsoft. A person claiming to be his son came to a nearby home and told the homeowner that his dad had been shot and to call 911. Homeowner did that and then waited with the man until the cops came.
As always, information has been scarce with this case and I haven't heard anything since the initial reporting.
Poo Poo is probably the most popular trailhead in the Seattle area but what would a man with a "high up tech job" and his son be doing out there in the middle of the night?
Also, the police shut down the area for 3 days which to me indicates that the obvious assumption that the son did it MIGHT not hold up or that it at least wasn't cut and dried.

This area is popular but is within a pretty solid area of forest.Despite it being a remote area it doesn't sound like any effort was made to hide the body

My husband saw this first on Nextdoor...I have just joined Websleuths because I couldn't shake the weird lack of information I could find out about the guy....He was high up in IT, which could mean he wiped his computer often.
I gave it 3 days, looked again,and nothing but newscasts without real info. We live nearby and watch paragliding from the top of the mountain. Had a thought maybe someone in that small community may know something. Why would ANYONE be in that area at that time is strange. It isn't for camping. I can see homelessness as a potential cause for being there...but it sounds like he was gainfully employed.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Welcome to Websleuths kk1 from the other side of Washington state!

This is a totally odd case - hope we get new info ASAP. Absolutely strange that they were supposedly on the trailhead at 1:30 am. The neighbor must have been freaked out to have someone show up on his property in the middle of the night but he seems very calm about the situation & was prepared with his two big, strong dogs. Waiting for an update.....

RIP Mr. Olin.

 

[Kk1]

Issaquah man recalls 'odd' encounter with a stranger claiming his father was shot at Poo Poo Point......argh. I'm new and accidentally reposted your original post!! No button to delete here? I just see edit

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Issaquah man recalls 'odd' encounter with a stranger claiming his father was shot at Poo Poo Point......argh. I'm new and accidentally reposted your original post!! No button to delete here? I just see edit

It’s really no big deal if u reposted an article. Just so u know, I don’t think u can delete a post. U can edit the post (I think u only have an hour to do so) and erase your entries & then type in “DBM” (deleted by me) or “NM” (never mind).

 

[Kk1]

It’s really no big deal if u reposted an article. Just so u know, I don’t think u can delete a post. U can edit the post (I think u only have an hour to do so) and erase your entries & then type in “DBM” (deleted by me) or “NM” (never mind).

Thank you! It was driving me crazy trying to figure it out. It also keeps saying draft saved,but there is no draft to be found on here. And clip tray and pasting didn't work. I really am frustrated by the format.

 

[Kk1]

Found that he was working for a tech place for businesses....here was a response to a question he answered. Hope the link works since I can't delete. In any case, I'm just trying to find out a picture of who he was... I thought given our current political situation,this was pretty telling.Daren Olin's response to alignable: 34% of small businesses can’t cover may rent

 

[Jcressey22]

Found this article that looks to be about his mother. In it lists that she has a son, Daren, and grandson, Neo, who was 13 at the time but would be in his early 20's now. The article identifing him said that his mother does live in Florida, so seems to match up.

One of Us: Jacksonville teacher Marilyn Olin honored for half-a-century in the classroom

Maybe the son was caught up in some stuff and Daren was just there as a father trying to help? So many unanswered questions still.

I was also able to find a picture of Daren from an old company website.

 

[Kk1]

Found this article that looks to be about his mother. In it lists that she has a son, Daren, and grandson, Neo, who was 13 at the time but would be in his early 20's now. The article identifing him said that his mother does live in Florida, so seems to match up.
That's the only picture I could find early on except for one that looked like a mugshot. Couldn't find a date on it,but definitely looks older than that picture. By a lot.

One of Us: Jacksonville teacher Marilyn Olin honored for half-a-century in the classroom

Maybe the son was caught up in some stuff and Daren was just there as a father trying to help? So many unanswered questions still.

I was also able to find a picture of Daren from an old company website.

 

[bruisedorange88]

Found that he was working for a tech place for businesses....here was a response to a question he answered. Hope the link works since I can't delete. In any case, I'm just trying to find out a picture of who he was... I thought given our current political situation,this was pretty telling.Daren Olin's response to alignable: 34% of small businesses can’t cover may rent

Interesting

 

[bruisedorange88]

Still no word on this case. Very little to go on.

 

[Kk1]

Still no word on this case. Very little to go on.

Would the sheriff or police have to choose to tell the press if they had solved it or have other information? In other words, if it WAS solved, would we be able to find out? Like as a matter of public record?

 

[googlyface1]

I still have not stopped thinking about this one. The situation sounded pretty suspicious/weird and I want answers

 

[bruisedorange88]

I still have not stopped thinking about this one. The situation sounded pretty suspicious/weird and I want answers

Me as well, there is no way that such an odd occurrence at a trailhead would fly under the radar like this

 

[HomerS]

Me as well, there is no way that such an odd occurrence at a trailhead would fly under the radar like this

I haven’t found any ongoing investigations or court proceedings. Suicide?

 

[googlyface1]

"Breckenridge Property Fund 2016 LLC | 17114 156th Avenue SE, East Renton Highlands (unincorporated), WA 98058" Breckenridge Property Fund 2016 LLC | 17114 156th Avenue SE, East Renton Highlands (unincorporated), WA 98058 well it looks like the dad and son shared this house, since it says they sold it together recently. The son is 20, was a teen chess champ and now is a behavior technician working with kids. So weird that nothing seems to have come of this at all

 

[wildflowerhoney]

This case has been on my mind for years. Seems like there was no news after the initial couple of months of coverage. It isn't very common to have no follow-up from local publications/LE after a case gets as big as it felt locally. The only information related to the victim in county superior court records is some old civil stuff and the organizing of his estate involving his mother and son, which was done by November 2021. I hope it was resolved behind closed doors but I wish there had at least been some statement saying "We figured it out but we're keeping it private, nothing to worry about" from LE after all that buzz. I think suicide (or accident?) is an increasingly likely explanation with the lack of info, but the circumstances surrounding the death (middle of the night, popular trail, with son, the son's initial reported statements, LE/news not hinting at that explanation, etc.) are what keep me thinking of this case.

I hope his family and friends got suitable closure even if the general public did not.

 

[Sfm701]

I also was interested in this case, so I filed a FOIA request a few months back and it was denied as it is an open investigation. It was also released that it was ruled a homicide. Makes it even more interesting that there has been no info released.

 

[wildflowerhoney]

I also was interested in this case, so I filed a FOIA request a few months back and it was denied as it is an open investigation. It was also released that it was ruled a homicide. Makes it even more interesting that there has been no info released.

Wow, thanks for letting us know. I'm curious about what investigators have to work with since it doesn't seem like there was a big push for information from the public on any specific details like there sometimes is with a lead. From social media profiles, it seems like the son has been globetrotting these days. I guess it'll be more waiting.

 

[bruisedorange88]

I also was interested in this case, so I filed a FOIA request a few months back and it was denied as it is an open investigation. It was also released that it was ruled a homicide. Makes it even more interesting that there has been no info released.

This was definitively a homicide but his son wasn't the culprit? So strange.