Two Oregon men die in forest after going missing while searching for Sasquatch: police

Two men have died after they went missing in an Oregon forest while searching for Sasquatch, a legendary ape-like creature also known as Bigfoot.

On Tuesday, Dec. 24, the people, whose identities were not released, were “searching for Sasquatch in eastern Skamania County,” the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Post on Facebook released on Saturday, December 28.

A day later, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 25, authorities were called by a family member who “reported a missing person and a threat to their life.”

Police said they used license plate readers to locate “a vehicle associated with missing/at-risk persons.”

Over the next three days, police “recruited more than 60 volunteer search and rescue personnel, including canine, drone and ground teams.” Authorities also received “aviation assets” from the United States Coast Guard.

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But after what police described as an “exhaustive three-day search in difficult terrain and weather conditions”, two men were found dead. Both people – a 59-year-old man and a 37-year-old man, each from Portland – were found “in a densely wooded area of ​​the Gifford Pinchot National Forest,” police said.

“Both deaths appear to have resulted from exposure, given the weather conditions and poor preparation,” they added.

In a social media post, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office thanked the “exceptional volunteers who gave up time away from their families this Christmas to help our agency in this mission.”

“These phenomenal volunteers also battled freezing temperatures, snow, high water levels, heavy rain, rainfall and dense forested terrain,” the department continued. “Their exhaustive search resulted in family members being brought home to their loved ones.”

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office subsequently expressed its “deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the loved ones who died in this tragic accident.”