SEQUIM — Search and rescue teams from Clallam and Jefferson counties located a Port Angeles man who had become disoriented due to rain and foggy conditions while he was hunting.
Wong Lee, 61, walked out to a trailhead and drove home about 10:48 p.m. Monday after a Jefferson County search and rescue team found him.
Lee was able to drive home and reunite with his family after he had been reported missing about 2:22 that afternoon, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said.
Lee was hunting in the Slab Camp area west of Sequim, the Sheriff’s Office said. When it started raining and fog developed, he tried to follow a stream down the hill, but due to undergrowth, he decided to climb back up the hill to get cellphone service. He told his family he was going to spend the night and walk out the next day, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Lee stayed in one place because his family members told him search and rescue personnel were looking for him, the Sheriff’s Office said. He was able to provide grid coordinates, but sheriff’s deputies and officers from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife searched for hours unsuccessfully.
Search and rescue teams from both counties were activated. Three teams were assigned different routes, two from the Slab Camp trailhead area and the other from the Blue Mountain trailhead.
A team made up of Jefferson County search and rescue personnel located Lee and provided electrolytes before they helped him walk to the trailhead.
