BANGOR — A woman’s body was found shortly after 7 a.m. Feb. 27 in a drainage ditch on the west side of NW Clear Creek Road, near gate 1 of Naval Base Kitsap — Bangor.

A county employee conducting maintenance in the area called 911 to report finding the woman’s body, Kitsap County Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said. The employee called 911 and patrol deputies went to the scene.

Sheriff’s detectives are investigating; persons with information may contact Detective Ken Smith at 360-337-4998, reference case report K14-001970.

Wilson said the woman was an adult female, but that her age and identity had not been determined. She was found lying face down in the ditch, which contained water, he said. She was wearing civilian clothes.

“At this point, there is nothing obvious to indicate criminal actions were involved in the woman’s death,” Wilson said. “Pending results of the autopsy, it appears she may have been walking, stumbled and fell into the ditch, and drowned.”

He added, “The Kitsap County Coroner’s Office will confirm the identity of the woman as part of its parallel investigation. An autopsy is scheduled to be performed by the county’s forensic pathologist. The coroner will make a determination as to cause and manner of death.”

Wilson said Naval Base Kitsap authorities and administrators at Central Kitsap School District had been notified.

The woman’s body was found in an actively travelled area, with neighborhoods nearby and within a four-minute walk of Clear Creek Elementary School. Wilson theorized that if the woman had died earlier than the previous evening, her body would not have gone unnoticed. He said it’s possible she died the previous evening.

NW Clear Creek Road was closed to through traffic between NW Mountain View Road and NW Piper Court while law enforcement officers investigated at the scene.

— Editor Richard Walker contributed to this report