PORT ANGELES — Former Olympic National Park Ranger Dan Pontbriand is retiring as chief of the visitor resource protection division at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan.
His retirement will end a 31-year federal career.
Pontbriand assembled a group of volunteer divers who, in 2002, solved a famous missing person case when they found a 1927 Chevrolet sedan in Lake Crescent at a depth of 171 feet.
The car belonged to Russell and Blanche Warren, who disappeared July 3, 1929, while driving the Olympic Highway, now U.S. Highway 101, along the lake from Port Angeles, bound for their cabin on the Bogachiel River near Forks.
In 2004, bones were recovered from the lake that DNA testing showed were those of Russell Warren.
Warren may have fallen asleep at the wheel, Pontbriand said.
The couple left two young sons.
A veteran of more than 2,000 dives, Pontbriand is credited with helping establish National Park Service programs in search and rescue, emergency medical services, diving, boat operations and all-hazard incident management.
A Maine native, Pontbriand’s National Park Service career began in 1979 as a seasonal river ranger at Grand Teton National Park, working alongside his identical twin brother, Ed.
Pontbriand accepted a permanent job at Boston National Historic Park in 1984, then went on to work at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and spent nearly half his career, 15 years, at Olympic National Park.
After that, he transferred to Washington, D.C., as chief of the Branch of Emergency Services for three years, then moved on to Sequoia National Park and finally to Isle Royale as the chief ranger.
He plans to spend his retirement in Arizona and Maine.
