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Death in the Kalmiopsis: 'It's really all a mystery' As Todd Morris' family recovers his body, questions remain about his final days No one will ever know for sure what was going through Todd Morris' mind as he lay struggling to survive in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness. The Forest Service contract worker likely longed to hold his wife, Sicily, and their young daughter. Family members who found his body early Thursday morning only know that he tried to start a fire during the snowstorm that swirled about him on the evening of Jan. 26, the day he disappeared. "He had some toilet paper he had burned that we found nearby," said Martin Rybczynski, a cousin from Boulder, Colo. "There were a few sticks in a pile. But it seemed like a feeble attempt. The lighter was halfway burned, which might indicate his movement wasn't very well controlled." "It wasn't a big fire - definitely not the kind of fire he would normally build," added cousin Phil Handley of Santa Barbara, Calif. Morris was an experienced outdoorsman who took pride in being able to start a campfire, his cousins said. Morris, 35, of Centralia, Wash., and his father-in-law, Mike Kazio, were veteran contractors working in the wilderness about 18 air miles northwest of Selma in the Siskiyou National Forest when he disappeared. An intensive search led by the Josephine County Sheriff's Search and Rescue was called off Feb. 1 after officials concluded he could not have survived that long in those conditions. They also cited the danger for searchers posed by severe weather conditions in the remote roadless area. It is likely that Todd Morris had expired before the official search was launched, his family acknowledged. Five family members, including Kazio, received permission from the Forest Service to be dropped off in the area by a private helicopter on Feb. 9. Warm weather in the past week had melted much of the snow. Todd Morris' body was found off the ridgeline trail on the west side of South Bend Mountain about a mile and a half from camp. Rybczynski, 37, a computer software expert, operates a nonprofit organization with his wife for at-risk youth that focuses on rock climbing. He is an experienced hiker and mountaineer. Handley, 35, is also an avid outdoorsman whose travels have taken him to the South Pole. He is a systems administrator for Texas Instruments. Another family member involved in the search was Rodney Morris, 42, Todd's oldest brother. A land surveyor hailing from North Carolina, he is a hiker, rock climber and spelunker. "We are trying to look for lessons for some of us who spend time in the back country," Rybczynski said Saturday afternoon. "But we can all look at this in a way to help conduct future searches." The family members are quick to say they appreciate the efforts made by volunteers and others. "The search and rescue team is great," Handley stressed. "They go out and give their own time and energy to do these searches. You can't do anything but appreciate that." But they would like to see increased coordination and communication between local authorities and the Forest Service. They also expressed concern about the difficulty in obtaining information about the search. "Their hearts are in the right place," Rybczynski said. "And we know the resources are a little short." No search and rescue officials were available for comment Saturday afternoon. John Owen, Forest Service contract officer for the Siskiyou, Rogue River and Umpqua forests, said Friday that officials will review the case. "We are looking at what we can do to prevent anything like this from happening again," he said. Morris and Kazio had submitted a safety plan and had taken other precautions required of contractors, Owen said. "We always try to cover all the contingencies when we talk to contractors about the dangers out there," he said. "But we will be more assiduous about identifying potential dangers." The bad weather that proved deadly was not in the forecast when Morris and Kazio entered the wilderness several days before his disappearance, officials said. "Todd had been on top of that mountain four or five times, and down on the plot at least three times," Rodney Morris said. "He knew the area real well." But the late January snowstorm that swept in from the coast apparently made him lose his way. The side of the mountain containing the survey plot has 60 to 70 percent slope and is covered with rock. Todd Morris was found flat on his back with his hands on his chest, Rybczynski said. "My theory is he had some sort of back or spinal injury and that he couldn't roll over," he said. "There is flat area there but the place where we found his body was maybe 20 to 30 degrees (incline). He was also lying feet down with the blizzard coming toward him. He was not even behind a tree. There was no protection. "All of that points to the fact he may have had problems with mobility," Rybczynski added. "He never put his work vest back on. And he never put his rain jacket back on." Todd Morris had some back problems in the past, his brother said. "The coroner was unable to find any obvious signs of trauma - they did a visual inspection only," Handley said. "It's really all a mystery right now." However, his work belt - used for carrying tools such as a tree coring device and tape measure - was found around his legs, he said. The coroner had found no broken legs, the cousins said. "But they say people sometimes do strange things when they are in hypothermia," Handley said. "Maybe his legs were tingling. Maybe he cinched his legs off because they were tingling." Or perhaps he was trying to conserve heat to his body core, Rybczynski offered. Whatever the reason for his demise, the family says they lost a loved one who made his mark. "A lot of us do the outdoors for recreation," Rybczynski said. "He did it day in and day out. He loved it. And it was a hard job that he did well." The family will hold memorial services in Centralia and in Todd Morris' native south-central Ohio in the coming weeks. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.