JOYCE — After more than 48 hours of trudging through rugged terrain and hunting for salmonberries to eat and creek water to drink, Jared T. Egnew, 22, and his 22-month-old daughter, Madison, are safely back with family and friends.
They had left their Lyre River campground site and Madison’s mother, Kayla McComb, at about 11 a.m. Friday when Egnew decided to take the girl, who was fussy, for a ride to calm her.
His car got stuck on a small logging road, Egnew told family and friends Sunday, so he took Madison on foot looking for state Highway 112 but got lost.
They emerged from the forest at about 10:15 a.m. Sunday, and he flagged down a motorist, who called for help.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office responded and returned them to relatives waiting at the Lyre River campground at about 10:45 a.m.
By that time, Egnew had not slept for more than 60 hours, intent on keeping the girl warm and as comfortable as possible.
Citing his lack of sleep, he declined to be interviewed Sunday, but Julie Batchelor, Madison’s maternal grandmother, spoke for the family.
‘Stressed and tired’
“He’s still so stressed and tired,” Batchelor said.
Batchelor and McComb also had little sleep — about two hours during the 48 hours of Madison and Egnew’s disappearance.
Batchelor said she was proud of her daughter.
“Kayla was really brave,” she said.
“She never wavered in her belief that they would be found.”
Egnew told Batchelor that he had left with Madison on Friday evening when she became fussy and began driving to try and calm her down.
The 1999 Ford Taurus was found at about 10:10 a.m. Saturday morning high-centered on the East Twin River Road.
“It was definitely stuck,” said Undersheriff Ron Peregrin.
“It was obvious from looking at it that he had worked on it for quite a while.”
Police dogs called out
Police dogs tracked Egnew’s scent through the woods for a ways but could not find him or Madison, Chief Criminal Deputy Ron Cameron said.
Without any new clues, search and rescue teams from the Sheriff’s Office were prepared to go back to ground zero at the car to try again Sunday.
After he was unable to get the car unstuck, Egnew began heading back toward state Highway 112, toting Madison.
“He thought he would take a shortcut through some of the woods, but then he just got lost,” said Batchelor.
“It was a lot more rugged than he expected, and then he got turned around.”
He happened on a creek and luckily had brought Madison’s bottle with him to scoop up some water to keep the toddler and himself hydrated.
Most of the reunions were gleeful, but others were tearful, as when Madison was reunited with her grandmothers.
Sitting at a fire at the Lyre River Campground where he, McComb and Madison had been camping, Egnew grinned while telling his loved ones stories of his escapades SEmD McComb at his side clinging to him and Madison.
Wet night
Collecting the driest wood he could find, he used a lighter he had to build fires to keep him and Madison warm through the two nights in the woods, Batchelor said.
“It was really hard, he said, because the wood was so damp, but he got them going well enough to keep them warm,” she said, choking up.
“That is the part I was most worried about because it rained last night.”
Egnew told the group of family how he thought he saw a bear as well.
“I just started throwing things at it,” he said.
“I had a knife in my car, but I had left it there.
“I can’t believe I left the knife in my car.”
Both Egnew and Madison were hungry after emerging from the woods, and after arriving at the campground they were able to have a meal.
“Madison ate an entire banana as soon as she got back,” said Batchelor.
Egnew was more tired than hungry, after refusing to sleep both nights he spent in the woods.
“He really just needs some quiet and a nap,” Batchelor said.
Batchelor said dozens of family and friends brought out four-wheelers and motorcycles to search the back roads throughout Friday night and Saturday.
“We so appreciate their efforts,” she said.
Ultimately, Egnew managed to get himself and his daughter to state Highway 112 — just a few hundred feet from where East Twin River Road meets the highway.
“It was not very far at all,” said Clallam County Sgt. Nick Turner.
“From what it looks like, he basically went the hard way, following the road on the rugged terrain.”
Canadians help
Some Canadian tourists stopped to help him, Egnew said, adding he didn’t take their names.
“Some people were driving right by me — some even flipped me off,” he told the group of family members.
“But finally the ones stopped, and we were able to get in contact with the Sheriff’s Office.”
Said Batchelor: “The Sheriff’s Office was here [at the campground] about to start the search again when they got the call.
“They took off out of here so fast and had them back here in less than a half hour.”
Turner said the case was closed as far as the Sheriff’s Office is concerned.
“It is very clear that they spent the last couple of nights in the forest,” he said.
“They are scratched up and wet, but thankfully they were not injured or sick.”
Egnew and McComb said they would spend the night at the campground for some rest and time away before returning to Port Angeles, where they have been staying with family, Batchelor said.
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
