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DEM #00-843 April 21, 2000 |
The Unit was contacted by the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management at 12:15 P.M. on Friday the 21st of April. They requested Mountain Rescue volunteers to help in the search for two lost hikers in the Greenwater area in eastern Pierce county.
Paul Webster, 18, and Steve Sellers, 20, had been attending a youth retreat at the Buck Creek church camp and had told friends that they were going to visit Snoquera Falls on the way home. After a small search by family members the sheriff was contacted Friday morning. The deputies found their pickup truck along highway 410 with their camping gear still inside.
A callout was made and eleven members responded they: Fran McFarland, Jim Andrues, Ken Capron, Victor Caro, Phil Fortier, Tyler Severy, Bill Weber, Talis Abolins, Duane Perham, Chris Berryman and Stan Kartes. They were told to meet at the Cache at 3:00 P.M. or at the Greenwater fire department at 4:00 P.M.. This was later changed to the Buck Creek Campground.
Around 5:45 P.M. just as the teams were getting ready to start searching the two hikers walked into the search base. They said that their climb up to the top of the waterfall had taken them longer than they anticipated and they had to spend the night in a makeshift shelter. They climbed down Friday morning. Units that had started to search were recalled and everyone returned to Tacoma.
Besides Tacoma Mountain Rescue, units from ESAR, Search and Rescue 4X4's, German Shepard Search Dogs and NW Bloodhounds participated in the search.
Tacoma Mountain Rescue |
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