Two missing tribal members located near Toppenish
Two members of the Yakama Nation missing since Tuesday were reunited with family Thursday night.
The two men, ages 27 and 35, were reported missing when they didn't return to their residence Tuesday night following a hunting trip.
Multiple agencies assisted the Nation Police in searching for the men along the south border of the reservation near Klickitat County.
On Thursday morning the men's cell phone was “Pinged” allowing search and rescue crews to obtain a GPS location which indicated the phone was last used Tuesday morning in the Satus area. The new search area then was moved to that location.
Washington State Patrol dispatched an aircraft from Spokane to assist in the search.
The aircraft searched a large area reaching from Satus towards the summit south, then east to Mabton. After an hour and half of searching in windy conditions, the aircraft was called off. A short time later Klickitat County received a cell call from the missing men. They were ok, but out of gas. Their GPS coordinates were obtained. Tribal rescue units had to use “Quads” to reach them, as they were in the closed area of the reservation on some very muddy roads, approximately 20-30 miles south of Toppenish.