Beaver Island, part of Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. An investigation continues into the deaths of two people in a remote campground in the park June 8. (Mark Wilcox/Daily Mining Gazette)

EAGLE RIVER – The Keweenaw County Board has denied a reporter’s appeal of an earlier decision turning down a June 16 Freedom of Information Act request in regards to the deaths of two people June 8 on Isle Royale.

The appeal filed by Gus Burns, a reporter for the Michigan-based news website MLive that aggregates content from nine local and statewide newspapers, states in part: “I submitted a request for death records compiled or produced by Keweenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael McAllister on June 12 … The request was denied by County Clerk Julie Carlson on June 16.”

The appeal closes with the request the board reverse the FOIA request denial, and “at the very least, release appropriately redacted copies of the requested records.”

County Board Chairman Don Piche said that the county does not have any documents to provide. “We don’t know anything,” Piche said. “We don’t have any information. Period.”

Because the incident occurred in a national park, the subsequent and ongoing investigation is federal. “They’re not giving Keweenaw County any information,” Piche said.

According to a June 10 news release from Isle Royale National Park, park rangers received two separate reports at about 4 p.m. June 8 of two people found deceased at a remote backcountry campground within the park. A June 12 update by the park’s Liz Valencia reported both individuals have been identified and their next of kin notified.

Burns reported earlier this week that murder-suicide is the suspected cause of the deaths, according to Keweenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael McAllister. The victims are a father and son, though it’s not clear who died first, McAllister told Burns. The FBI investigation is incomplete and McAllister had no other information, Burns wrote.

Keweenaw County Sheriff Curt Pennala said while Isle Royale is a national park, it is within Keweenaw County. Pennala said that his department sent staff to Isle Royale to assist until federal investigators could arrive.

“Because the deaths occurred in Keweenaw County, our medical examiners are part of that case, so they will have some information at some point,” Pennala said. “The point of us rejecting it to fulfill FOIA requirements was that the case still is under investigation by the feds.”

Pennala told the board that because Keweenaw County was an assisting agency, it has not been provided with any information or documentation.

“We’re not going to carry a report,” Pennala said. “We’re not going to have names and dates of birth and stuff like that. But at some point, our medical examiner’s office will have that information.”

Having no information to provide in fulfilling the FOIA request, Pennala said the next step was to appeal the request to the board.

“A medical examiner appeal does hit the Board of Commissioners because you guys are in charge of that office,” Pennala told the board.

At least some information was available the day after Isle Royale published its release. On June 13, TV6 News published a report stating that it contacted the county medical examiner June 11, who said while the autopsies had been completed and medical personnel were confident about suspected causes of death, he had yet to receive a final report from investigators confirming the cause and circumstances. Part of this reason, he said, is that investigators are still awaiting final lab results.

TV6 went on to state in its report that Valencia said law enforcement does not want to release that information while the investigation continues.

“There’s a separate team in the National Park Service,” Valencia is quoted as saying. “It’s an investigative services branch, so they came. There were other agencies that participated … we do have a contracted fixed-wing airplane … that provided support, flying investigators back and forth, and rangers.”

Valencia was reported by MLive as saying she is waiting for investigators to tell her when she can release more information. “If they let me know it’s going to be a month, then I’ll let people know,” she said. “They might say it’s going to be in the next couple of days.”

The FBI states on its website it does not release information on ongoing investigations. Such information is protected from public disclosure, in accordance with current law and U.S. Department of Justice and FBI policy.

“This policy preserves the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of individuals involved in the investigation prior to any public charging for violations of the law,” the FBI stated. “It also serves to protect the rights of people not yet charged with a crime.”

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Graham Jaehnig can be reached at 906-482-1500 or gjaehnig@mininggazette.com.