Six months after a hit-and-run collision killed a Camano Island man on a highway offramp in Poulsbo, no arrests have been made in the case, and police and family are still searching for answers.
Sometime between midnight and six a.m. on the morning of Saturday, December 9, 2023, an unidentified vehicle struck and killed Robert P. Rathvon, 35, as he was walking along the shoulder of the Highway 3 northbound exit ramp at Finn Hill Road. The Washington State Patrol began receiving calls about a body on the roadside around dawn.
It is still unclear exactly how Rathvon ended up on the highway offramp. His father, Will Rathvon, said in December that Robert was staying at the Poulsbo Inn & Suites, on Highway 305. The hotel is more than two miles away from the offramp where Robert's body was eventually found.
Piecing the night together
Robert was a LifeFlight air ambulance pilot who had landed in Port Angeles on Friday, December 8, after finishing an unusually demanding seven-day shift. Robert's mother, Kathryn Rathvon, said that ordinarily Robert would drive home to Camano Island for the weekend, a trip that can take more than four hours by car, with or without using ferries. On the Friday before his death, citing fatigue, he instead stopped for the night in Poulsbo.
"He loved Christmas," Will Rathvon said. "And he knew Poulsbo had a nice little Christmas town...We think he chose Poulsbo because he was going to do some Christmas shopping. He always bought very unique Christmas presents, things for the family."
Det. Krista Hedstrom of the WSP, who is leading the investigation into Robert's death, said that around 6 p.m. on December 8, Robert walked from his hotel to the Slippery Pig Brewery on Front Street, about a ten-minute walk. He had dinner and stayed for part of the Slippery Pig's karaoke night. Surveillance footage confirmed that he exited the establishment around 11:20 p.m.
Alcohol does not appear to have played a role in Robert's death, according to Hedstrom.
WSP's use of surveillance footage to establish a timeline leading up to Robert's death marks a significant milestone in the case. WSP is still waiting for cell phone data to be released so that location data can be compared with the surveillance footage timeline to determine who might have been present at the scene.
It seems likely that Robert, who had never been to Poulsbo before, got lost while trying to walk back to his hotel.
"Instead of turning right [out of the Slippery Pig], back to his hotel, he went straight," Hedstrom said. "That was the beginning."
Kathryn Rathvon added that her son was used to a nocturnal schedule and may have been trying to extend his walk home before he lost his way.
According to Hedstrom, Robert's route doubled back on itself multiple times, but eventually took him along Finn Hill Road, on the west side of Poulsbo rather than the east, where his hotel is located. Investigators originally believed Robert was last seen on Finn Hill Road just after midnight on the morning of December 9. Discrepancies with location data from Robert's cell phone have led Hedstrom to believe that the surveillance footage was time-stamped incorrectly, and that Robert's last appearance on video was just after 1 a.m.
Hedstrom and the Rathvons are unsure exactly what led Robert to walk down the exit ramp toward the highway.
"I wish I knew the answer," Hedstrom said, adding: "I think there's a good chance he walked down the ramp to read the sign to see where he was."
"That's all we can guess," Kathryn Rathvon said. "We'll have to wait until we're up in heaven with him to ask."
A life cut short
Robert was a fourth-generation University of Washington graduate, and a multi-instrumentalist who loved philosophy and physics in equal measure. Flying had been his passion ever since he was young.
"When he was a kid...we bought him one of those remote-controlled airplanes that might have a wingspan of four feet or something," Will remembered. "He would take it to these little old runways...You had mainly men flying their little toys, and then you get this little guy who can hardly carry the plane going out."
Kathryn added: "Dear Rob always loved things that went 'vroom.'"
Before flying for LifeFlight, Robert worked as a bush pilot in remote areas of Indonesia. According to Will, the terrain Robert was navigating was sometimes labeled "the most dangerous flying in the world."
Robert "loved flying, but also really loved helping people," Kathryn said, and felt fulfilled by his job and the interactions he had in remote Indonesia. So the Rathvons had come to accept the inherent risks of Robert's career.
"We knew if he did die flying, it was something he loved," Will said. "We would have known how he died, and the specifics, if it was in an airplane."
Robert's actual death, and the unanswered questions that surround it, came as a complete shock to his parents.
"It was horrifically ironic that he died walking," Kathryn said.
"That's the hard acceptance here," Will said. "We don't have the details...It's a tough one to swallow."
Waiting for tips
Anyone who might have seen or heard something related to Robert Rathvon's death is encouraged to contact Det. Krista Hedstrom at 360-731-1108 or at Krista.Hedstrom@wsp.wa.gov. People with information to share can also call the Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound hotline at 1-800-222-TIPS, or submit an anonymous tip via P3Tips.com.
Will and Kathryn Rathvon and Crime Stoppers are offering a $26,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and charge in the case.
"Unfortunately, nothing is going to bring Rob back," Kathryn said. "But it's honoring his life by finding the person, by someone taking responsibility for this and allowing us to find justice for what happened — that would feel much better."
Hedstrom declined to comment on tips she has received so far. Releasing too many details to the public about the night Robert was killed could jeopardize the investigation, she said.
"We want them to tell us the story," she said, referring to people who may have information about Robert's death. "We don't want to tell them the story."
Fatal hit-and-runs involving pedestrians are some of the most difficult cases to solve. Still, Hedstrom remains hopeful that someone will come forward with the information she needs.
"At the end of the day, there's someone out there who knows what happened," she said. "Any little tip...might be the little piece I'm looking for to complete the big picture."
While the Rathvons have processed some of their grief since December, and have even traveled to Poulsbo, they still wrestle with the injustice and uncertainty of their son's sudden death.
"It's devastating," Kathryn said. "I mean, every day it's devastating. It's not going to go away, ever. But what is really sad is to look at Rob. You know, he lived a fabulous life, he studied so much in his life, he learned so much, he gave so much. And then for him not to be able to continue to live out his dreams and wishes is really heartbreaking."
She continued: "So [the investigation] is not just for us. It's for him, really. It's to honor his presence on this earth."
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: WSP still investigating hit-and-run death in Poulsbo of Robert Rathvon
