Community volunteers join search for missing Cathlamet resident

Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a missing Cathlamet resident in the early morning hours of Dec. 14. Family members said they had not seen the resident since the night before; the search began at 1:30 a.m. and a silver alert was issued later in morning. Search and Rescue was called in. Their first steps were to call the State Emergency Operations Center and establish a base camp. The resident was last seen near Columbia Street in Cathlamet. Sheriff’s deputies began driving all the roads within town limits and SR-4, westbound from Jacobson Rd. to Risk Rd. but there was still no sign of the missing individual. The search team received the assistance of a drone operator from the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, which has been an invaluable tool in missing person searches.Search crews from neighboring jurisdictions joined the search party and the town was broken into four zones for grid-searching. A grid search is what the public usually pictures when they think of a lost person, carefully paced lines of people walking slowly and deliberately. Volunteers and first responders searched for hours, Hugh Ahnatook, a Fire Chief in Bay Center, said, “I heard about the missing person in Cathlamet on Facebook, so I called Wahkiakum Search & Rescue to ask if they needed volunteers. They said yes, so I headed to the command post at the school. Volunteers were showing up and signing in. I’m the fire chief in Bay Center in Pacific County, and I think of Wahkiakum County as our cousins—it’s good to help each other out, and I hope they’d do the same for us if we ever needed help.”

The search party consisted of seven Wahkiakum SAR members which included two deputies, WCSO Sheriff, WCSO Undersheriff, one Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office Drone Operator, two Cathlamet Fire Department medical personnel, four Cowlitz County SAR team members, one Grays Harbor SAR team member, and eight community members. “I was glad to see my friend David Whitney, who lives on Puget Island, show up as one of the civilian volunteers. Wahkiakum Search & Rescue was very organized and followed protocol. There was also excellent support from the local volunteer fire and EMS departments and the Wahkiakum Sheriff’s Department. It was great to see the community come together like that” says Hugh Ahnatook. Many community members couldn’t physically volunteer but they found other ways to get involved, “I got a friend’s message about the missing [person]. I alerted my nearest neighbors. One neighbor had security cameras and said he would look over the footage. I checked my outbuildings, and I saw three volunteers walking down the street looking for the gentleman… I was impressed by the immediate community response” says Kopi Carmine, a Cathlamet resident.

A little after 10 a.m., the missing person was located on Jacobson Rd. in Cathlamet after being identified by a citizen who recognized their description. The fast response by the community and first responders was felt by business owner Carla Reed Keilwitz said, “Watching how quickly this community responds to emergencies has always amazed and impressed me. With the [Video] store right across the road from a fire hall, I get to listen to how rapid the response time is for this all-volunteer team. Many thanks to all who pull together to keep us safe in each situation!” The family members of the missing individual were deeply moved by the outpouring of community support, “I and my family are very thankful to everyone who jumped into action and helped us search quickly. We appreciated all the help from the agencies in town and out of town and all the volunteers who came to help search... We live in the best little community everyone always comes together to help each other during times of need. A big Thank You to all involved.” says Julie Titus, Cathlamet resident and family member.

Sheriff John Mason had this to say about the performance of the search crews: “Thank you to the Wahkiakum County SAR Team, Wahkiakum EMC Austin Smith, Wahkiakum Deputies, Wahkiakum Dispatchers, Wahkiakum Technology Coordinator Beau Renfro, the Cathlamet Fire Department EMS, Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, Cowlitz SAR, Grays Harbor SAR, and most importantly thank you to the Community Members that volunteered without hesitation to search and assist in any way they could. The missing person was ultimately located under the best conditions imaginable because of the gracious and noble actions of our Community Volunteers. This highlights the great cooperation and trust that our community has given the Sheriff’s Office, a relationship that I hold dearly and will continue to foster. I cannot express how proud of our community I am. Thank you Wahkiakum!”

In Wahkiakum County, there were 15 missing persons reports in 2023 and 12 in 2024. The Wahkiakum County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team maintains readiness for situations like these by participating in training twice a month. One in the classroom and one in the field, if you are interested in volunteering with Wahkiakum’s SAR team, contact Austin Smith at em@co.wahkiakum.wa.us or 360-795-7876, or Lucas Getman at getmanl@co.wahkiakum.wa.us or 360-795-3242.