No new clues in missing hiker search

If today’s efforts fail to find a Portland hiker missing near Bonneville Dam, Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox says officials will evaluate whether to suspend the search.

Today marks the fourth day of full-scale searches for Kate Huether, a 24-year-old Portland woman last heard from on Thursday. No additional clues to Huether’s whereabouts have been discovered during search efforts that began in the Columbia River Gorge area at 7 a.m. today, Cox said in a news release.

Huether, a Portland State University student, was last heard from in a text message Thursday telling a friend she was going for a hike. Her car was located Friday at the Bonneville trailhead, about a mile east of North Bonneville.

She was reported missing on Saturday.

Despite reports of a flasher in the area Thursday, foul play is not suspected.

Over the last two days, a combined 90 searchers have tread the wooded area looking for a sign, anything, that would lead them to Huether.

In total, 45 searchers, two canines and two searchers on horseback are traversing the area today. A helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Astoria, Ore. is also active.

With the area becoming cold during the past few nights, including a dusting of snow Tuesday morning, Huether is believed to have left with a backpack, but its contents aren’t known. A weather front that could bring rain and snow this afternoon could impact the search, according to Cox.

Click here for more Columbian coverage of the Huether search.