Peter Keller: Police find body in Washington mountain bunker

GlobalPost

Authorities in Washington State have found the body of a man wanted for killing his wife and teenage daughter in an elaborate bunker they had surrounded in the Cascade Mountains.

The King County Sheriff's Office said they located the body of Peter Keller, 41, almost 23 hours after first locating the Rattlesnake Ridge structure just east of Seattle, reported the Associated Press. He appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

CBC News reported that earlier on Saturday an explosives team tried to blow the roof off the bunker. Police believe Keller died before the explosion.

Authorities have been looking for Keller since his wife, Lynnette Keller, and their 18-year-old daughter, Kaylene Keller, were found dead after a fire in their North Bend home on Sunday. According to Seattle's KiroTV, the King County Medical Examiner said both women died from gunshots.

"Peter was described by friends and family as a loner and had a survivalist mentality," authorities said in court papers, reported Reuters.

A co-worked gave police a list of firearms — including several handguns and high-powered rifles with scopes and silencers — and body armor he knew Keller owned, according to Reuters. Keller took more than $6,000 out of his bank account before the deaths of his wife and daughter, and said he was preparing for the "end of the world."

Keller is said to have spent eight years planning and building his bunker, as well as stockpiling food and supplies, police said to ABC News. Lights were seen flickering on and off from inside the bunker as police surrounded it Friday night.

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