On June 26, 2022, a dead killer whale (Orcinus orca) was found 48 km off the coast of Newport, Oregon, entangled in presumed recreational Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) fishery gear: a crab pot and line. The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network (OMMSN) was informed and promptly notified the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service, leading to aerial and seaborne responses by the U.S. Coast Guard. Killer whales that inhabit the coastal waters of the Northeast Pacific are relatively well-documented from both traditional identification methods and genetic markers. Killer whale ecotypes are distinguishable using a fragment of the mitochondrial genome known as the control region or "D-loop". Although no tissue samples had been collected from the dead whale, we considered it likely that prolonged contact with the crabbing line would have inundated sections of the gear with recoverable DNA. Given the prolonged environmental exposure and decay of the body, we hypothesized that any usable genetic material would likely originate from the mitogenome as is common in these environments.