Thieves cut through a 10-foot barbed wire fence and stole gear from trailers, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue team said.
K5 reports “PORTLAND, Ore. — The search-and-rescue team with the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office is facing a significant setback. Thieves stole equipment while crews were out recovering the bodies of two Portland men who were reported missing and later recovered in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The two men, who were 59 and 37 years old, went out searching for Sasquatch and were supposed to return home on Christmas Eve, according to law enforcement. A family member reported them missing on Christmas Day. After a three-day search, the men were found dead in a heavily wooded area.
The sheriff’s office has not yet released their names, but said they appear to have died due to exposure. The medical examiner will be conducting a full autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
On the last day of the mission, the search-and-rescue team said thieves cut through a 10-foot barbed wire fence and stole gear from their trailers. The stolen items include an automated external defibrillator, or AED, custom wilderness medical kits and generators.
The search and rescue team is affiliated with the sheriff’s office, but it’s a nonprofit fully comprised of volunteers with no paid staff. The sheriff’s office said it’s disappointed by what the thieves did, as this group is the primary team they rely on for search-and-rescue missions.
“These people volunteer their time, their own money, time away from their families, not just for missions, but training,” said Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer. “And to have this happen to them after they spent Christmas out in the field, searching for people and returning their loved ones, is disgusting to me.”
Not only will the search-and-rescue team have to repurchase all of the equipment that was stolen, but the loss of the equipment will impact future rescue missions until it is replaced. The estimated cost for all the tools is in the thousands of dollars, the group said.
There was no security system or cameras at the outdoor facility where the equipment was stolen.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office at 509-427-9490 and reference case number 24-09035.”
Rescue team’s gear stolen hours after finding men who died Sasquatch hunting
Steve N
Silver lining in this story, (to the stone and merchandise at least )anybody who tries to sell this stuff would have to be a bigger moron than they are a thief. It’s got no value now. I pray stupid enough to try to sell it. Smart money says the stuff gets returned in the middle of the night.
Matthew W
Preparers took the stuff for their and their kin’s bunkers.