Tacoma police are trying to figure out how a woman died and why her body was in a ravine in the city's Salishan neighborhood.

Neighbors first discovered the woman on Tuesday at the bottom of a 60-foot ravine in a wooded area near South 38th Street and Portland Avenue.

Police and fire personnel responded to the scene and found the body of an adult female. There were no obvious signs of trauma, and police believe the body had been in the ravine for several days.

Police say transients are known to frequent the area.

The Pierce County Medical Examiners will conduct their portion of the investigation to identify the woman and the cause of death.

The Washington State Patrol is seeking additional witnesses in an early Monday crash that killed one woman and injured two others, including a WSP trooper.

The five-vehicle crash occurred Monday morning around 5 a.m. near the Burnham Drive overpass on Highway 16.

A state trooper was parked on the right shoulder at the scene of prior collisions that were clear of the roadway. In the next three minutes, a westbound passenger car crashed off the right side of the highway and a westbound motorcyclist went down on the roadway. Another driver stopped behind the trooper vehicle on the shoulder to help. A westbound pickup truck traveled onto the shoulder and struck the rear of the good samaritan’s vehicle, forcing it ahead into the trooper, samaritan, the motorcycle operator, and the patrol car. The trooper and motorcyclist were injured and the person trying to help was killed.

This just in from Pierce County:

The Pierce County Emergency Operations Center will begin today collecting damage information from homeowners and business owners affected by this week’s winter storm.  Residents and business owners in Pierce County that suffered damage should call the Pierce County Damage Assessment Center at 1-866-798-6363 (toll free) Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.