Authorities in southwestern Washington shared this week that two men were found dead on Saturday after they disappeared last week while reportedly looking for Sasquatch.
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office shared the news in a post on Facebook, noting that the bodies of the men, identified as a 37-year-old and 59-year-old, were found after a three-day search through Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The men were said to be from Portland, Oregon.
The sheriff’s office said that exposure appeared to be the cause of both deaths, as both men appeared to be unprepared for the cold weather while they searched for the mythical creature.
A search and rescue operation was launched after the men were reported missing. Involved was the sheriff’s office, United States Coast Guard, multiple law enforcement agencies, and 60 volunteers.
The operation was conducted “over difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions” on Christmas Day, when the sheriff’s office was notified that the two men were overdue from their mission to track down Sasquatch.
“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 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.”
Sasquatch, who is also known as Bigfoot, is a mythical creature said to inhabit North American forests, especially the Pacific Northwest.