The husband of an Oregon hiker who was reported missing last week with her two dogs has been charged with second-degree murder after her body was discovered and later identified.
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) began a search for Susan Lane-Fournier on Friday, Nov. 22 after her employer said she didn’t come to work. The search for Susan, 61, who was missing alongside her two dogs, was then suspended after four days, the CCSO announced on Nov. 25.
On Saturday, Nov. 30, the CCSO said that Michel Fournier — who multiple outlets including KOIN, The Oregonian and KGWreport being her husband — was booked into the Clackamas County Jail and is being held without bail on a charge of second-degree murder after Susan’s body was discovered on Friday, Nov. 29.
Michel Fournier.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
In a news release, authorities said that Susan’s remains were discovered on Nov. 29 in the Welches area around 8:30 a.m. local time, near East Highway 26 and East Miller Road. She was identified by the local medical examiner’s office, and her manner of death was determined to be a homicide.
The finding of her body came six days after her white 1992 Ford F-250 was found parked near East Salmon River Roadand the Green Canyon Way Trail south of Welches, which prompted a multi-day search by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team.
Susan’s body was found four miles from the location of her truck, per KOIN, and her two dogs have not yet been located.
Michel, 71, was then arrested by detectives after the discovery of her body.
Per KOIN, Susan filed for divorce from her estranged husband after 12 years of marriage. KGW reported that she filed the divorce proceedings on Oct. 31 in Clackamas County Circuit Court, and a petition for dissolution of marriage stated that “irreconcilable differences between the parties have caused an irremediable breakdown of their marriage.”
Friend James Evans told KOIN that he found Susan’s body after searching the area. “I went down the path, maybe 20 yards. I’ve seen some tarp. I thought it was trash,” Evans said. “I bent over to pick up the tarp and as I bent over and came up, I seen a pair of boots connected to a leg.”
“I directly dropped the tarp, backed up, gathered myself together, turned around and went to the lodge and had the office call 911 immediately,” he added. “It was pretty heartbreaking.”
While Evans said he wasn’t “super-super close” to Susan, he told himself he was “gonna find” his friend. He now intends to continue looking for Susan’s large Malinois-mix dogs on Sunday, Dec. 1, per KOIN.r
Susan Lane-Fournier.
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
Before the initial search for Susan was suspended — a decision that was made “based on weather conditions and the likelihood of survivability” — the sheriff’s department reported dozens of volunteers had spent “more than 800 search hours looking” for the missing woman.
Per KGW, Susan’s friend, Cari Gesch, is the person who spotted her truck. She described Susan as “the most kindest, most loving person” she knew.
“We’re just all concerned,” Gesch, who called her friend an experienced hiker, said at the time. “It’s not like her to not show up to work, not call and no one’s seen or heard anything. … She’s a little bit eccentric but everyone up here on this mountain is a little bit eccentric.”
Gesch also referred to Susan’s dogs as “her protectors,” stating, “Those were guard dogs. I mean, if anybody would get near her, they would lose their minds.”
