According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), two men from Portland, Oregon lost their lives while searching for Sasquatch right before Christmas in Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest, with the freezing, inclement weather likely leading to their deaths. Washington is the locus of America’s most Sasquatch sightings.
The SCSO the deaths in a statement posted to Facebook during the evening of December 28th. Beginning the post, the SCSO described how authorities were alerted to the two men being missing. It said, “Two Portland men lost their lives while searching for Sasquatch in eastern Skamania County. On 12/25/2024, around 1:00 A.M., the Skamania County Communications Center received a report of two overdue subjects who were searching for Sasquatch and planned to return home on 12/24/2024. When the pair did not return home, a family member reported the subjects missing and endangered.”
Continuing, the SCSO described how “flock camera,” or license plate reader, footage was helpful in coordinating the rescue effort, saying, “Flock camera footage was accessed, based on this information provided. A recently installed Flock camera did locate the associated vehicle with the missing/endangered subjects, allowing a Skamania County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Coordinator to assist in locating the missing subjects’ vehicle off of Oklahoma Road, near Willard, Washington.”
The authorities then spent three days searching for the men, with five dozen volunteers helping out. The statement said, “Over the course of three days, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Coordinator acquired over 60 volunteer search and rescue personnel, including canine, drone, and ground searching teams.”
That’s not all. A US Coast Guard aircraft with thermal imaging capabilities was used to search for them, though dense forest conditions such as those present in the Pacific Northwest can limit the usefulness of such imaging. In any case, the statement provided, “Additionally, an air asset was acquired from the United States Coast Guard, based in Astoria, Oregon, to assist in the search utilizing F.L.I.R.”
Unfortunately, when both missing men were finally found, they were found dead, as the statement noted: “After a grueling, three-day search over difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions, the 59-year-old male and 37-year-old-male, both from Portland, Oregon, who were reported missing/endangered were located, deceased, in a heavily wooded area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Both deaths appear to be due to exposure, based on weather conditions and ill-preparedness.”
Thanking those who got involved to search for the missing men despite it being Christmas time, the SCSO said, “The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office would like to recognize the exceptional volunteers who sacrificed time away from their families during Christmas to assist our agency with this mission. These phenomenal volunteers also fought through freezing temperatures, snow, high water levels, heavy rain, downfall, and heavily wooded terrain. Their exhaustive search efforts resulted in bringing family members home to their loved ones.”
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Noting the teams involved in the effort, the statement then provided, “These teams include: Skamania County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Silver Star Search and Rescue, P.N.W. Search and Rescue, Crag Rats, Wasco County Search and Rescue, and the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office. We would also like to acknowledge the United States Coast Guard crew who provided an invaluable service and flew in inclement weather in an attempt to assist with this mission.”
Concluding with a statement of condolence for the families of those two men who died while hunting for Sasquatch, the SCSO said, “The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office extends our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the loved ones lost in this tragic incident.”
Featured image credit: SCSO Facebook