Search on for overdue Marysville hiker in Cascades

Published 8:51 pm Sunday, December 5, 2010

VERLOT — Rescuers searched into the night Sunday trying to find a Marysville hiker missing in the area of Morning Star Peak east of Granite Falls.

The man in his mid-50s didn’t return from a day hike Saturday, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Brand said.

He was reported missing around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue set up a command post at Verlot, the site of a National Forest Service ranger station. A sheriff’s office helicopter aided the search Sunday afternoon and was expected to return to the area at night using heat-seeking technology to try to locate the man.

“He left expecting to do a day hike and be back,” Brand said. “He didn’t expect to be out overnight.”

The man, who left around 9 a.m. Saturday, is described as an experienced hiker. He was accompanied by his dog.

Searchers have tried calling the man’s cell phone, but both telephone and radio reception is spotty in the wilderness area.

His car was found at a trail head about 28 miles up the Mountain Loop Highway from Granite Falls.

“My hope is if he just got lost he could curl up with the dog and stay warm for the evening,” Brand said.

Brand said searchers planned to continue looking for the man through the night and he expected more volunteers to join the rescue effort Monday if the man is not found.

Searchers wanted to take advantage of the clear night sky Sunday and were concerned by forecasts that snowfall could return to the area.

Morning Star Peak reaches 6,017 feet. Overnight temperatures were expected in the 30s. The avalanche risk in the area was listed as moderate Sunday night.

That means “it’s not that there is zero risk, but it’s not very likely,” said Dennis D’Amico, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.