Rescue Crews Searching for Missing Soldier

SHELTON, Wash. (AP) – Deputies with Mason County Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue unit and others are searching for a missing soldier from Joint Base Lewis-McChord who disappeared while on a hike.

KIRO-TV reports that officials said the soldier was hiking with a friend Sunday near the High Steel Bridge over the Skokomish River northwest of Shelton. A sheriff’s office spokesman said the friend told authorities that they had decided to hike in different directions for a time and that the man didn’t return. The missing man’s name hasn’t been released.

The sheriff’s office says JBLM soldiers and team from Olympic Mountain Rescue were also searching and that drones and a Navy helicopter were being used in the search.