National Park Mysteries & Disappearances: The Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington and Idaho) by Steve Stockton & Bill Melder

Author:Steve Stockton & Bill Melder [Stockton, Steve & Melder, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beyond The Fray Publishing
Published: 2021-12-07T06:00:00+00:00

SAMANTHA SAYERS – NORTH CASCADES MOUNTAINS

During a solo hike on the Vesper Peak trail in Washington’s North Cascades mountains, Samantha “Sam” Sayers, twenty-eight, went missing on Wednesday, August 1, 2018.

Sam left on the trail around 8 a.m. and was due to report to her boyfriend, Kevin Dares, around 6 p.m. that evening. Kevin was at work that night, so he was unable to accompany Sam. When she didn’t return, he decided to go to the trail around 8 p.m. when it was getting dark. She was reported missing the following morning around 1 a.m.

As of this writing, there has been no sign of her.

Vesper Peak Trail has been described by the Washington Trails Association as not for novice hikers, but for those looking to go beyond hiking into backcountry adventure, it’s a good starting point. On this summit, stumbling is much less likely to result in serious consequences than on other summits along the Mountain Loop. According to some hikers, the Vesper Peak trail is “hard to follow,” suggesting that Sayers may have strayed from the trail by accident.

At the time of her last sighting, Sam was dressed in gray hiking pants and a black sports bra. Due to alopecia, Sam has no hair on her head. A veteran hiker, she had previously explored the Vesper area.

As soon as she was reported missing, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search that was one of the longest and most ambitious rescue operations in recent years.

Sam’s car was found parked along the Mountain Loop Highway in the Mount Baker–Snoqualmie National Forest, twenty-seven miles south of Darrington.

The Vesper area was searched by seventy searchers on foot, fourteen dog teams, and two helicopters without success. Sheriff’s Marine Unit members and drone operators participated at one point. Additional volunteers from across the state spent thousands of hours looking for the missing woman and left bags containing dry socks, a poncho, energy bars, a compass, a flashlight, fire sticks, and lighters with a note that read, “Stay strong! We are looking for you.”

Sheriff’s deputies spoke to witnesses who saw Sam the day before she disappeared, but none saw her returning back down toward the trailhead.

She had lunch with an unidentified male before she disappeared, according to Kevin Dares, her boyfriend. After he saw the news of Sam’s disappearance, the unidentified person checked in with searchers to say that he’d had lunch at Vesper Peak at roughly 3 p.m. that day with Sam. In addition, he said he later saw her going down the west side of the mountain towards Spada Lake after they parted ways.

As of August 2, sheriff’s office search and rescue teams have put in 357 hours of air operations, 105 hours of drone operations, 82 hours in the marine unit to assist the search teams in Spada Lake, 329 hours for search and rescue personnel, and thousands of volunteer hours.

On August 23, 2018, the official search for Sam was called off without finding any sign of her. Sergeant John Adams of the search and rescue unit stated, “We have exhausted all leads and tips.

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