King County Search Dogs

January 2003

January 10-11, 2003
03-0065
North Fork Snoqualmie
2245 callout for 3 missing climbers at Twin Peaks. We responded with 12 personnel, including 4 dog teams. The subjects had parked at the Lake Phillipa trailhead with the intent to mountain bike to the end of the road and then hike into Twin Peaks. The trailing team confirmed the subjects were in area and had travelled in expected direction from bikes. The airscent teams covered the areas below the peak at Lake Phillipa as well as on the roads to exit the area. The subjects walked out to their bikes around 1100 hours and were located by a 4x4 unit. The story was that they had travelled along the ridge route followed by the SMR search team then dropped down toward Lake Phillipa. They got stuck at the head of a ravine NNE of the lake and spent the night there. After enjoying a fire and smoked salmon, they traversed the hillside and eventually headed downhill to their bikes. (156 hrs)

January 16, 2003
03-0107
Newcastle
0730 callout for cadaver search in Newcastle. We responded with 3 cadaver teams, six people total. After a worker found a portion of a skull along the side of a road, our teams responded to assist with locating additional evidence. Marcy Koenig, with Griz, as well as Josh Gerstman and Edgar located and identified bones. Marcy Koening, with Coyote, as well as Heather Cutting, with Boston, identified areas of interest which later proved to have bones in them. (24.5 hrs)

January 18, 2003
03-0107
Newcastle
0900 start for planned continuation of the cadaver search in Newcastle. Again, we responded with 3 cadaver teams and 6 people. Search effort was to clear out several previously covered areas and concentrate in the general area where bones had been found. Joanne Varney with Hylee, located a bone about 20 yards from where the majority of bones had been. Another bone was located by an ESAR member and the mandible was located by an SMR member. The search was suspended at that point unless more bones were needed to be located in the future. (44 hrs)

Click to continue to February 2003 missions.