A lost backpacker last seen on Wednesday was found alive and in stable condition Sunday morning after a four-day search for her in the southeast area of Olympic National Park.
Cheri Keller, 56, of Olympia, was spotted at 11 a.m. off trail in a basin to the east of Mount Steele by a King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian II helicopter crew, said Penny Wagner, park spokeswoman, in a press release at about 3 p.m.
The helicopter landed in the basin and transported her to Sanderson Field Airport in Shelton. From there, she was transported in stable condition by ambulance to Mason County Hospital for evaluation, Wagner said.
Keller was reported missing at about 10 a.m. Thursday. She was last seen by her backpacking group at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday near Home Sweet Home camp in the upper Duckabush River drainage near First Divide, where the group of five hikers had stopped for water.
Home Sweet Home is located 12 miles from the North Fork Skokomish Trailhead in the Staircase area of the park.
Others in the group waited for her at Camp Pleasant, Wagner said. When she didn’t arrive, two members hiked out to Staircase Ranger Station on Thursday morning to report her missing. The other members of the group hiked back to First Divide to look for her but were unable to locate her, Wagner said.
The four-day search-and-rescue operation involved teams in the field made up of Olympic National Park staff, Olympic Mountain Rescue and Tacoma Mountain Rescue.
Trail containment involved National Park Service staff and Mason County Search and Rescue.
Washington State Search and Rescue Planning Unit, North Cascades National Park and Mount Rainier National Park assisted.
Additional resources assisting with the search on Sunday included the Kitsap unit of WESAR, Washington State Department of Corrections tracking team, and two teams from Kitsap County Search Dogs.
Saturday evening, a State Patrol fixed wing airplane took advantage of a break in the weather to search for a couple of hours before low clouds moved back in.
The group had a wilderness permit to hike from the Duckabush trailhead to Staircase Ranger Station near Lake Cushman from Aug. 1 to Thursday.
Previous story
A search is underway for an Olympic woman who was reported missing Thursday, Aug. 5, Olympic National Park.
Cheri Keller is a 56-year-old female from Olympia. She is 5 feet 6 inches tall with gray hair. She was wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants with a blue backpack.
Keller was last seen by her backpacking group at about 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 4, near Home Sweet Home camp, located in the southeastern region of the park; the group of five backpackers had stopped there for water, National Park officials said.
Keller became separated from the group after they left Home Sweet Home headed for Camp Pleasant.
The group waited for her at Camp Pleasant where they had intended to meet for lunch and ended up staying in that location overnight park representatives said. Two members of the group hiked out to Staircase Thursday morning and reported her missing to park dispatch at about 10 a.m. Other group members hiked back to First Divide to look for her.
Keller’s group had a wilderness permit for Aug. 1-5 to hike from the Duckabush trailhead to Staircase.
Search and Rescue personnel hiked into the wilderness from Staircase on Thursday after Keller was reported missing. Two National Park Service search teams are in the field today (Friday, Aug. 6), covering the route from the Duckabush side and from the Staircase side.
Additional resources for the search are being coordinated.
Park officials ask that anyone who was in the area of First Divide, Upper Duckabush or Camp Pleasant on Aug. 4 or Aug. 5 or have any information regarding Keller to call or text the NPS Investigative Services Branch (ISB) Tip Line at 888-653-0009; or online at nps.gov/ISB by clicking “Submit a Tip,” or by email at nps_isb@nps.gov
“Information from other day hikers and backpackers is often extremely valuable during searches,” park representatives said.
