Law enforcement officials confirmed on Saturday that two men died while searching for Sasquatch (Bigfoot) last week in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is located in Washington.
In a post on Facebook, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “Two Portland men lost their lives while searching for Sasquatch in eastern Skamania County.”
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office explained that the Skamania County Communications Center received a report at roughly 1:00 a.m. on Christmas Day from a family member of one of the two individuals after they failed to return home on Christmas Eve. The family member reported that the two individuals were “missing and endangered.”
According to law enforcement officials, a “flock camera” was used to locate the car of the missing men off of Oklahoma Road, which is located near Willard, Washington. A search and rescue operation consisting of 60 volunteer search and rescue personnel, a U.S. Coast Guard air asset, and canine, drone, and ground search teams worked for three days to locate the missing men.
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The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “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.”
Law enforcement officials noted that both of the men appeared to have died as a result of “exposure based on weather conditions and ill-preparedness.”
Following the search and rescue operation, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office commended the “exception volunteers” who helped locate bodies of the missing men and “sacrificed time away from their families during Christmas.”
“These phenomenal volunteers also fought through freezing temperatures, snow, high water levels, heavy rain, downfall, and heavily wooded terrain,” the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office added. “Their exhaustive search efforts resulted in bringing family members home to their loved ones.”
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office also expressed sympathy for the families of the two men who died during their search for Sasquatch on Christmas week.