2 men found dead after searching for Sasquatch in Washington state forest, authorities say

SALEM, Ore. — Two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they were reported missing last week while searching for Sasquatch, authorities said Saturday.

The bodies of the men, who were identified as a 59-year-old and 37-year-old from Portland, Oregon, were located in a heavily wooded area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southwestern Washington state, according to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office. A family member reported them missing and endangered at around 1 a.m. local time on Christmas Day after they failed to return from their trip on Christmas Eve.

Camera recordings were used by authorities to locate the vehicle used by the pair off Oklahoma Road near the small community of Willard on the southern border of the national forest, the sheriff’s office said in a news release on Facebook.

Sixty volunteer search-and-rescue personnel were called up for what the sheriff’s office called a “grueling, three-day search over difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions.” The search included canine, drone, and ground teams while the U.S. Coast Guard used infrared technology to search from the air, according to the sheriff’s office.

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The pair appeared to have died from exposure, the sheriff’s office said, citing weather conditions and the men’s lack of preparedness. The area has been under a winter storm warning with heavy snow forecasted, according to the National Weather Service.

“The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office would like to recognize the exceptional volunteers who sacrificed time away from their families during Christmas to assist our agency with this mission,” the sheriff’s office said. “These phenomenal volunteers also fought through freezing temperatures, snow, high water levels, heavy rain, downfall, and heavily wooded terrain. Their exhaustive search efforts resulted in bringing family members home to their loved ones.

“The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office extends our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the loved ones lost in this tragic incident,” the sheriff’s office added.

What is Sasquatch?

Sasquatch — commonly known as Bigfoot — is a large and hairy mythical creature that in folklore is said to inhabit the forests in North America, specifically forests in the Pacific Northwest. The legends of Sasquatch “go back beyond recorded history and cover the world,” according to the Washington State Military Department.

“Bigfoot is known by many titles with many different cultures although the name Bigfoot is generally attributed to the mountainous Western region of North America,” the Washington State Military Department said on its website.

Settlers in North America first reported sightings of Sasquatch during the late 1800s and into the 1900s, the Washington State Military Department said. Those who claim to have seen the creature have described it as a “bipedal ape-like creature, significantly larger than the average man, and completely covered in dark brown or reddish hair,” according to environmental organization Oregon Wild.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon men found dead after searching for Sasquatch in forest