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

The King County Sheriff’s Office is actively investigating a suspicious death near the Poo Poo Point Trailhead in Issaquah.

King County Medical Examiners confirmed 52-year-old Daren Olin was shot in the head. Just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, deputies responded to the area for reports of a body found.

John Chancellor lives near the popular trailhead with his family and two dogs. Chancellor said it was 1:45 a.m. on Sunday when he brought his dogs inside from a bathroom break. Shortly after that, they started barking.

"I can tell a difference between if there’s an animal because we get coyotes and bears and stuff out here. I can tell a difference in their tone if there’s that versus somebody. And so clearly it was somebody on the property," said Chancellor.

RELATED: Medical Examiner: Victim found dead at Poo Poo Point trailhead shot in the head

Chancellor said his dogs were barking at a man who he then saw near his side gate beating on a window. He said he did not know him or why he came to his house. Chancellor explained he motioned the random man to meet him and the dogs on his back deck.

He said moments later the stranger told him his dad was shot at Poo Poo Point.

"He’s saying ‘I need to use your phone, I need to use your phone. My father has been shot.’ He didn’t say it urgently, but that is what he said. I said, ‘Ok you stay here,’ not that he was going anywhere at that point," said Chancellor.

With his dogs on guard, Chancellor said he went inside to grab his phone.

"I dial 911 and I tossed him the phone and I sat there and listened to what he had to say. Then it started raining and I didn’t feel like standing outside in the rain. So, I told him, ‘Come in, sit down in that chair there and talk.’ And that’s where he was for 27 minutes until the police showed up," said Chancellor.

King County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit shut down the trail Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday to investigate.

Chancellor, a Vietnam War veteran, said he posted a notice on Nextdoor about the strange encounter. He said he did not do this out of fear, but rather to alert the neighborhood.

"It was odd and I was aware that it was odd and potentially dangerous. There was something that was not right about it, but I was prepared. I did not sense that he was any direct danger that I could not deal with," said Chancellor.

Q13 News spoke with Daren Olin’s mother in Florida who is devastated about the sudden loss. She said her son had a high position in the IT industry.  

Officials with the sheriff’s office said they're not able to provide much information at this time because the investigation is open.