Both missing mushroom pickers found safe
The Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday afternoon that after days of searching, the second of the missing mushroom pickers that became lost in Wishkah was found.
On Friday, Nov. 12 around 1:30pm the two women, ages 30 and 42, went mushroom picking near the 3100 block of East Hoquiam Rd.
According to GHSO, the women got turned around in the wilderness and became lost.
Both women spent the next 3 nights and days trying to find their way back to their vehicle.
On Monday morning, one of the women injured her ankle and was unable to continue, while the other woman continued walking and later made her way out of the timber and contacted 911.
K9 teams from Pierce County and a drone team from the South Beach Regional Fire Authority responded to assist with the search.
The search continued into Tuesday and Wednesday with assistance from:
- Quinault Tribal Police
- Quinault DNR, SAR, FIRE, Family and Friends (lots of family and friends)
- Kitsap Co Search dogs
- Thurston Co. Search dogs
- Pierce Co. Search dogs
- Westcoast Search dogs
- Pierce Co. Mountain Rescue
- South Beach Fire
- Hoquiam Fire
- GH Dist #10 Fire
- King Co. Helicopter
On Wednesday morning, Quinault ground searchers located the missing 30 year old female in a gully, huddled up under a blown down trees root system approximately 2 miles into the timber from the end of Greenwood Rd.
GHSO says that the woman was hypothermic (cold and wet) and possibly had a sprained ankle. She was escorted out of the timber to a waiting ambulance and then transported to the hospital for an evaluation.