A hunter vanished in a raging river near Mount Saint Helens, deputies said.
Unsplash via Kal Visuals
A 72-year-old hunter was swept away by a raging river as he tried to cross it, Washington deputies said.
He’s been missing for days.
The man vanished at about 5:34 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Muddy River near Mount Saint Helens, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
He tried to cross the fast-moving river on an inner tube, but he was carried away in the current, deputies said.
SKAMANIA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE CONTINUES SEARCH MISSION NEAR MOUNT SAINT HELENS11/14/2024 – The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating a search and rescue mission that has extended into a second day near Mount Saint Helens. On 11/13/2024, at approximately 5:34 P.M., the Skamania County Communications Center received a report of a hunter swept away while trying to cross the Muddy River, near the Forest Service 8322 Road, in an innertube. Another hunter in the party could not cross the river and was also in need of assistance. A Skamania County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Coordinator was dispatched to the incident and began coordinating resources for the mission. Resources were requested from the Volcano Rescue Team and the Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue team for assistance. Additionally, numerous attempts were made to acquire an air asset with hoisting capabilities. However, no state assets were available and federal assets attempted to reach the area but were unable to due to weather-related issues.Members from the Volcano Rescue Team and Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue Team responded to the scene and, working collaboratively, rescued the hunter who was confined to the shoreline of the Muddy River. However, the hunter that was swept away in the swift waters was not located. Around 2:00 A.M. on 11/14/2024, the search was suspended. At approximately 9:00 A.M., the search for the missing hunter resumed and an air asset from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island was acquired. However, the air asset was grounded attempting to reach the search area due to weather. After receiving a favorable weather window, the air asset resumed the operation and is currently searching the area. The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office will update information as this search mission progresses.Thank you to our incredible partners from the Volcano Rescue Team, Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue, and the U.S. Naval Air Station-Whidbey Island for assisting the Sheriff’s Office in this treacherous mission.Volcano Rescue Team NAS Whidbey Island
Another hunter from the group did not cross the river and was rescued from the shoreline, deputies said.
Rescue teams searched for the missing hunter until about 2 a.m. the next day, deputies said.
More search efforts continued at 9 a.m. A helicopter was also used to scan the area for him, but he remains missing, deputies said. The search was suspended that day.
Authorities did not have any updates as of Nov. 19.
Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.
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