JBLM soldier search suspended; believed to have fallen from hillside into river

MASON COUNTY, Wash. — A U.S. Navy rescue helicopter flew under the high steel bridge near Shelton on Monday, searching the south fork of the Skokomish River trying to find a Joint Base Lewis McChord soldier who disappeared Sunday while on a hike near the bridge.

“We got notified of it and started coming out and implementing an investigation and a search,” said Mason County Sheriff’s Assistant Chief Ryan Spurling.

Rescuers spotted some evidence that may suggest the soldier lost his footing on the nearly vertical hillside, grasping for tree branches as he slid into the fast-moving water below. The Mason County Sheriff's Office released a photo of the soldier but they have not released his name to the public so the Army can notify his family.

He was last seen on the river's south shore near the bridge when other soldiers he was hiking with lost sight of him. A group of fellow soldiers returned to the bridge today to help the search but haven't turned up any signs of him.

The Navy helicopter flew low in the deep inside the narrow river canyon to look down on the water from above in case the soldier had been swept downstream in the treacherous and fast-moving water.

The hillsides around the bridge are known to be dangerous but remain a popular place for hikers to take pictures.

“Although there’s lots of signs saying don’t go down there because it’s extremely dangerous, a lot of people do,” said Spurling.

Authorities later suspended the search because of narrow canyons and high water.

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