Oregon Public Broadcasting

The remains of a Washougal, Washington man caught in the Haiti earthquake on January 12th have been discovered and returned to the United States. Amelia Templeton reports.

Walt Ratterman was the CEO of SunEnergy Power International. That's a non-profit that provides solar power to hospitals and schools in thirty countries.

Ratterman was working in Haiti when the earthquake struck.  On Sunday the State Department informed his family his remains had been found in the Hotel Montana and flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Jeanne Ratterman says she's grateful that her husband and his Haitian colleague Herbert Kanzki have been found.

Jeanne Ratterman: "My heart stays with those who are still wondering and those who may never know. I know how that feels, the waiting, the wondering."

Ratterman's family is working with officials at Dover to get his remains released and flown back to Washington state.

His wife hopes that will happen by the weekend, when Ratterman would have celebrated his 58th birthday.