Vancouver man found dead in garage; neighbors worried

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — The death of a 58-year-old man inside his Vancouver garage has been deemed suspicious by investigators, although details of exactly what happened Saturday night remain unconfirmed.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, officers found the man — who has not been publicly identified — already dead inside the garage of the home in the 4000 block of NE 137th. No one else was at the home at the time officers showed up, authorities said, but did not say whether the man owned the home.

Investigators also declined to say if they are actively searching for any suspects, but did say no suspects have been detained at this time.

Neighbors who spoke with KOIN 6 News said the home was fairly active with people coming and going often. They also said the man quite often spent time in that garage.

“I’ve seen them across the street when I’ve been outside. I’d come home kind of late Saturday nights, and they’re always out in their garage,” neighbor Ariel said. “A lot of times they’ll be out there until early hours in the morning.”

Francie lives a few houses down and said the street is mostly quiet. But she said the other night she heard something out of the ordinary.

“Two. Two shotgun shots is what I heard,” Francie said. “I heard some shotguns kind of late at night. I just live around the corner, and it was loud.”

Ariel said the entire incident is very concerning.

“I came home last night around 11 and saw police out there, and I kind of assumed that something like that might have happened. But it’s kind of worrisome,” she said.

“We didn’t know that he was dead until this morning, so we weren’t sure,” Francie said. “It’s scary, very scary.”

Detectives from the Vancouver PD’s Major Crimes Unit continue to investigate but would not elaborate.

“Unfortunately we are not at a point in the investigation to release any specifics or comment on what possible witnesses are discussing,” said Vancouver PD spokesperson Kim Kapp.

The cause and manner of death are expected to be released later by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.

KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this story.

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