Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Searchers are on the ground looking for a Pacific Crest Trail hiker who hasn't checked in or been heard from in almost three weeks, when he left a convenience store near White Pass.
Kris Fowler began his trek five and a half months ago in Mexico and is heading north to Snoqualmie Pass, according to the Yakima County Sheriff's Office. His trail name is "Sherpa".
Search and Rescue Coordinator Sgt. Randy Briscoe said he's got teams out on the trail today.
Yesterday he had help from citizens in Packwood who made the 26-mile hike from White Pass to Chinook Pass," he said.
"Folks in Packwood are organizing another search from Snoqualmie to Chinook Pass, I'm told," Briscoe said this morning.
Fowler, who is 34 years old according to his step mother, lives near her in the Dayton, Ohio area. He started his travels with a college friend but they agreed they may or may not stick together the entire way, Sally Guyton Fowler said.
"He and I had a deal we'd keep in touch," Guyton Fowler said. "I talked to him the end of September and he texted a friend on Oct. 12."
By the end of last week she and his father began to get worried, she said.
The family reached out to the Lewis County Sheriff's Office on Friday and a deputy checked the area and then learned Fowler had been at the Cracker Barrel store on U.S. Highway 12 near White Pass on Oct. 12, according to the sheriff's office.
The minimart is on the east side of the county line, so they notified the Yakima County Sheriff's Office of the information they had, as well as Pierce County.
Sgt. Briscoe said he was notified on Sunday of the possibly missing hiker.
Briscoe said he learned Fowler had been to the store on Oct. 10, asked for a ride into Packwood to get supplies and then returned to the store two days later. He was last seen walking out of the Cracker Barrel at 3 p.m. on Oct. 12, he said.
"He told the clerk he was going to proceed to Snoqualmie Pass," Briscoe said.
Briscoe said he has aircraft ready to go, but yesterday and this morning, they were grounded because of the weather.
There's been no activity on Fowler's cell phone, he said.
Briscoe said the trail from White Pass to Snoqualmie Pass is 102 miles, he's told. His step mother said he'd previously been moving 20 to 25 miles each day.
There was a terrible storm on Oct. 14, so Fowler could have decided to hunker down, Briscoe said.
"Maybe he's not overdue, maybe he's just trudging through and we'll see him come out," Briscoe said.
Meanwhile, sheriff's office's in Pierce and Kittitas counties have been notified and Briscoe is trying to get as many people and agencies along the route involved as he can.
Fowler is 6-foot 2-inches tall and 150 pounds, with blond hair and a modest beard.
Lewis County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Bruce Kimsey said this morning that one of his sergeants learned from the Cracker Barrel clerk that Fowler also made a comment about maybe going to Naches to get work at a winery.
"She felt he headed north though," Kimsey said.
Guyton Fowler was getting on a plane today and plans to stay at the Packwood Inn.
"They want me there in support, in case he needs medical attention," she said.
