Troopers say Kristine Fairbanks, a 15-year veteran of the Forest Service, was working on Forest Road 2880, off Palo Alto Road, near Sequim when she radioed the State Patrol at about 2:40 p.m. to report a suspicious van and to ask for information.

When the State Patrol radioed back, they received no response. Troopers were immediately dispatched to the scene, located about five miles inside the Olympic National Forest.

When troopers arrived, they found Fairbanks dead from a gunshot wound. The van was nowhere in sight.

Sheriff's deputies say Fairbanks, 51, had a police dog with her at the time of the shooting, and the dog was found unharmed in her vehicle.

Investigators found the van empty later in the evening, and the suspected gunman was shot to death about 9:30 p.m. He was identified as 36-year-old Shawn Matthew Roe.

State Patrol spokeswoman Krista D. Hedstrom said the Roe walked into a gas station convenience store shortly after two troopers stopped there to leave a flyer with Roe's picture.

"Minutes after (the troopers) walked out of the door, our suspect walked in and he saw his flyer on the counter," Hedstrom said.

"He walked out of the store and it just so happened that there were two Clallam County deputies who were coming to the store."

Roe was shot in an exchange of gunfire with the deputies and died at the scene, Hedstrom said.

When deputies ran the license plate of the truck Roe used to get to the gas station, they went to the owner's home and found the person fatally shot. That person's name has not been released.

Investigators have cordoned off the area around the gas station and are still collecting evidence at the scenes where Officer Fairbanks and the stolen truck's owner were killed. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation were also called in to help.

"We have a long night ahead of us," Hedstrom said.

It was not known what prompted the initial shooting that left Fairbanks dead. She is survived by her husband and 15-year-old daughter.