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Hunter still missing south of Randle

Updated at 9:30 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A search for a missing Lewis County hunter that began yesterday has been called off tonight and will resume at daybreak tomorrow, according to authorities.

David Sherwood, 56, of Onalaska, was reported overdue from elk hunting south of Randle late Friday evening, according to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.

His truck was found yesterday off the Forest Service Road 2612,  Skamania County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Dave Cox said today.

Search efforts were coordinated throughout the night and this morning, almost 80 friends, family and members of search and rescue teams searched that area, Cox said in a news release tonight.

Cox said the search base is located at the Ryan Lake Trailhead, on Forest Service Road 2612, which he estimated is about 15 miles south of Randle. It’s in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Cox was not at the scene.

Heavy snow at times and limited visibility has affected their efforts, according to Cox. The area is heavily timbered and in steep terrain, he said.

According to Cox, Sherwood’s son reported him overdue from and elk hunt trip in the Ryan Lake area, northeast of Spirit Lake, which is north of Mount St. Helens. He made the report to both Lewis County and Skamania County authorities, he said. Cox did not say if it was a day trip, or longer.

Weather is expected to continue to hamper the search as more snow is forecast to fall; already there is eight to 12 inches in the area, Cox said.

“I have been advised by our Search and Rescue Coordinator that we have requested an additional 20 ground searchers for first light in the morning,” Cox stated. “Additional resource requests for aircraft support have also been made, although their use will be heavily weather dependent.”

Temperatures in Randle are forecast at 39 degrees tonight.