Missing hiker

NorthCascades

Tomorrow I'm getting up at the crack of dawn and joining 100 other people to walk around in circles through thick slide alder, in the hope of finding someone who was last seen a week and a half ago. It's been very warm and there's plenty of water in the area, so a good outcome is still possible.

When you hike alone, leave a note with a responsible person, telling them where you'll be. Set a check in time, this is when they'll call for help if they haven't heard from you. There's no point in "start worrying at 6 pm," that doesn't mean anything. "I'm in trouble if you haven't heard from me by 9." Bonus points if they know what color your jacket and pack are, and can describe your car.

If you get lost and can't find your way, stay put and wait.

lorrpb

So great you can help out. Where did this happen?

RAinWA

I've been following the story on the missing hiker. Bless you for helping.

NorthCascades

lorrpb wrote: »

So great you can help out. Where did this happen?

Vesper Peak, on the Mountain Loop between Granite Falls and Darrington. She was last seen having lunch on the summit. A lot of the area below is dense vegetation and searches from the air can't see everything.

CSARdiver

Solid advice.

Numquam deficio

Prayers up - Good hunt brother.

mph323

Very best of luck - I hope you guys find her, and she's in good health.

nutmegoreo

All the best. I hope she is found and doing well. Please update.

macgurlnet

You are a wonderful person.

When I get back into running, I'll make sure I text my boyfriend a picture before I leave if I'm going out alone - I never thought about doing that!

~Lyssa

mkculs

Good for you, using your skills and fitness for a very good cause. I hadn't heard about this. Let's hope she is found safe and relatively sound.

makkimakki2018

Damn reminds me of the movie 127 hours. Hope you find this person. Every life is precious!

Stockholm_Andy

NorthCascades wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

So great you can help out. Where did this happen?

Vesper Peak, on the Mountain Loop between Granite Falls and Darrington. She was last seen having lunch on the summit. A lot of the area below is dense vegetation and searches from the air can't see everything.

So somewhere in the USA?

Good luck with the search. Has the missing person got much outdoors experience?

cmriverside

Stockholm_Andy wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

lorrpb wrote: »

So great you can help out. Where did this happen?

Vesper Peak, on the Mountain Loop between Granite Falls and Darrington. She was last seen having lunch on the summit. A lot of the area below is dense vegetation and searches from the air can't see everything.

So somewhere in the USA?

Good luck with the search. Has the missing person got much outdoors experience?

Western Washington state, NE of Seattle

cmriverside

Prayers for her safe recovery.

deannalfisher

I hope you find her

AliNouveau

Yikes has she been found?
Always my biggest fear not that I hike in mountains but man this sort of thing is scary

NorthCascades

Just got home from the search. Disappointed and surprised more people weren't there. I learned today that a number of people are driving back roads looking for a starving hiker, hoping she made a wrong turn and walks out somewhere unexpected.

We covered 13 miles today, and ~3,500 feet of vert. I didn't have to fight slide alder thickets, instead I wound up combing a boulder field. We found a trace of human activity off the trail that could have been anyone, reported it, and otherwise confirmed an area to be empty.

It rained a lot while we were up there. I got soaked to the core. Think I'm going to get a blister. Time for a hot shower and then some dry clothes, and hopefully there will be good news about someone else having found her.

nutmegoreo

AliNouveau

I guess no updates?

NorthCascades

@AliNouveau

She still hasn't been found in spite of an extensive search. It rained heavily in the area on Saturday and has been cold since.

pinuplove

I'm sorry the news hasn't been better I'm sure those of you who volunteered to help search are much appreciated by her loved ones.

AliNouveau

NorthCascades wrote: »

@AliNouveau

She still hasn't been found in spite of an extensive search. It rained heavily in the area on Saturday and has been cold since.

Oh no. At least it's summer and not below freezing temperatures. Maybe she's found a place to take refuge. Let's hope at least

lorrpb

There is another missing hiker on Mt St Helens. 😢
If you hike, don’t hike alone, take proper provisions, let someone know where you’re going, etc. BE SAFE!

DoubleUbea

The missing hiker story was in my news feed this morning
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/17/search-continues-for-seattle-hiker-missing-more-than-two-weeks.html

shaf238

Still hoping for a positive outcome...

NorthCascades

This is a good lesson. A lot of people have been searching for this lady for more than two weeks now. There are helicopters, dogs, people on the side of a mountain, people driving back roads in case she walks out. Almost all of this is a volunteer effort. If she had been found, there would be no charge for any of this.

In the US, rescues virtually never have a price tag. If you have to be flown to safety in a helicopter, in my neck of the woods it's often provided by the armed forces and written off as a training exercise. Or HRT which is made up of volunteers.

If you're ever in a bad situation, call for help before you make it worse. Don't take that call lightly, but it's often the case that the longer you wait, the more dangerous it is for people to come after you. If you're ever in trouble, SAR volunteers are kind and professional, do not pass judgement, and would rather help a person out of trouble than extract a body.

FL_Hiker

DoubleUbea wrote: »

The missing hiker story was in my news feed this morning
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/17/search-continues-for-seattle-hiker-missing-more-than-two-weeks.html

That's just weird how the boyfriend said she was last seen with a strange man. Something about that rings wrong. I can't help but wonder if she isn't even on that mountain but very far away 😢. Hope they find her soon...

estherdragonbat

NorthCascades wrote: »

Tomorrow I'm getting up at the crack of dawn and joining 100 other people to walk around in circles through thick slide alder, in the hope of finding someone who was last seen a week and a half ago. It's been very warm and there's plenty of water in the area, so a good outcome is still possible.

When you hike alone, leave a note with a responsible person, telling them where you'll be. Set a check in time, this is when they'll call for help if they haven't heard from you. There's no point in "start worrying at 6 pm," that doesn't mean anything. "I'm in trouble if you haven't heard from me by 9." Bonus points if they know what color your jacket and pack are, and can describe your car.

If you get lost and can't find your way, stay put and wait.

Some years back, my husband and I drove up to Killarney, Ontario for a few days. (I'm working on a novel and I wanted to set part of it in the area). It's about five hours away, a hiking, fishing, and camping spot. And one thing I do recall, beyond discovering that what I'd always thought were "hikes" were really "nature walks" was the lodge where we were staying asking all guests going on hikes to file a route plan with the front desk, complete with anticipated time back. And they made no bones about stating, "So we know where to send a search party if we have to."

Something that might not have occurred to this city-dweller.

Adding my prayers for the missing person's safety.

TavistockToad

FL_Hiker wrote: »

DoubleUbea wrote: »

The missing hiker story was in my news feed this morning
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/08/17/search-continues-for-seattle-hiker-missing-more-than-two-weeks.html

That's just weird how the boyfriend said she was last seen with a strange man. Something about that rings wrong. I can't help but wonder if she isn't even on that mountain but very far away 😢. Hope they find her soon...

Just read the article.... that does seem weird.

julubeet

I hope with all of my heart that you find this woman, alive.

There's a new trend of hiking gurus that recommend that women go hiking alone. Their advice is leading others into dangerous situations. Those with wisdom don't recommend that men or women go hiking alone on the Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail or any trail. If you break a leg or fall down a chute, no cell phone service, there you are. Don't go alone.

NorthCascades

To be honest it also seems weird that he left Cliff Bars and ponchos but no beacons or signal mirrors. But a beacon is $300 and might get stolen.

(A personal locator beacon, PLB, is a device that will call in the cavalry from anywhere on earth when you hit the panic button. Highly recommended for hikers in rugged terrain.)

cwolfman13

Wow...was in Seattle last week and heard about this. I have a cousin who works a mine (for fun) out that way and he has been searching. He told me that the terrain and area can be pretty brutal.