Two Oregon men died from exposure while searching for sasquatch in Washington state

Two men were found dead Saturday in a forest in southwest Washington where they disappeared last week while searching for Sasquatch, authorities said.

According to the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office, the bodies of the 37- and 59-year-old men were discovered after a three-day search in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The cause of both deaths appeared to be exposure, the sheriff said in a statement, noting that the men appeared unprepared for the brutally cold weather.

Neither man was identified, but the sheriff said the pair were from Portland, Oregon.

The sheriff’s office had coordinated a search and rescue effort involving the U.S. Coast Guard, several local law enforcement agencies and 60 volunteers, including canine, drone and ground search teams, to locate the missing men.

Their investigation “over difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions” began on Christmas Day when Skamania County Sheriff’s Department received a report of two people who were overdue to return from an outdoor excursion to track Sasquatch.

Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot, is a mythical creature that in folklore is said to inhabit North American forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.

“The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office would like to recognize the extraordinary volunteers who sacrificed their time away from their families this Christmas to assist our agency in this mission,” the office said. “These phenomenal volunteers also battled freezing temperatures, snow, high water levels, heavy rain, precipitation and heavily forested terrain. Their extensive search efforts resulted in family members being returned home to their loved ones.”