Hiker found dead on Rainier was talented musician

Park rangers found the body of Devin Ossman on Wednesday less than two miles from the trailhead where the 45-year-old Mukilteo man had parked his car Monday for a day hike on Mount Rainier.

"It's very sad — he was really not that far from the trailhead. He did almost make it," said Lee Taylor, a spokeswoman for Mount Rainier National Park.

Though an autopsy had not been performed, Taylor said it appeared Ossman died of exposure. He was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, a jacket, a scarf and a hat.

"That's pretty light clothing to be up in the mountains this time of year, especially in wet and cold conditions," said Taylor, noting that overnight temperatures dropped below freezing.

A park ranger noticed Ossman's car shortly before nightfall Monday; his wife had reported him missing to Mukilteo police earlier in the day.

Searchers began looking for Ossman on Tuesday and came across a set of footprints late in the day at 3,200 feet but hadn't determined whether they belonged to Ossman before darkness forced them to call off the search, Taylor said.

Two rangers were sent back up the south end of the mountain early Wednesday and followed the tracks up to 4,200 feet. They traveled back down to 3,000 feet and found Ossman's body east of the Kautz Creek Trail around 11:30 a.m., Taylor said.

"Before they got to the end of his snow track, it looks like he was stumbling and falling," she said, adding that disorientation and loss of balance are indicators of hypothermia.

Ossman was a talented flutist and a member of Whidbey Island's tightly knit arts scene, said fellow musician Randy Hudson.

Raised in Southern California, Ossman studied classical flute, graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1984, Hudson said, reading from a brochure from one of Ossman's shows.

After moving to Whidbey Island in the late 1990s, Ossman, a composer and private flute instructor, played with various ensembles, including the neo-folk Celtic group Indigo.

Ossman also played the piccolo, saxophone and penny whistle and had a range of musical interests — from Baroque and classical to folk and jazz, Hudson said.

"He was very quiet and reserved — just a sensitive soul," Hudson said. "He once told me reading music for him... was no different than picking up a book and reading it."

Stacie Burgua, executive director of the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, said Ossman was to perform at the center in May. At his family's request, his concert date has been left open for a community memorial, she said.

Ossman used to own an Oak Harbor toy store but moved to Mukilteo within the past year, Burgua said.

Ossman came from an artistic family, and his father, David Ossman, is a member of the comedy troupe The Firesign Theatre, Burgua said. Ossman's family could not be reached Wednesday.

"It's a small community and the telephone wires are burning up with people contacting each other," Burgua said. "This is devastating news for our community — it's a loss for all of us."

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com