Del Norte Search & Rescue and a multitude of other agencies continue searching for a missing Washington woman. | Courtesy of Del Norte County Search and Rescue

Though emergency personnel found the dog alive on Tuesday, his owner, a 74-year-old Washington woman, is still missing, the Del Norte County sheriff told the Wild Rivers Outpost on Wednesday.

The woman has spent roughly five nights in the dense forest and brush between milepost marker 5 on French Hill Road and milepost marker 15 on U.S. 199. Nighttime temperatures have dropped below freezing, Sheriff Garrett Scott said.

Ground crews found the dog and articles of clothing in an area “so extreme that it takes about eight hours to make it to a public road,” Scott told the Outpost at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“The thermal imaging units are not detecting any heat sources other than what they thought was either a bear or possibly that dog,” he said, adding CalOES sent a plane with an infrared camera to scour the area Monday evening. “Today we have the Cal-Ore Life Flight helicopter, their medical helicopter, is going to re-fly that general area for us … because the sun is out today and visibility is pretty good.”

The woman is of Asian descent, is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. She was wearing a green rain jacket and pink pants and had her black medium-sized dog with her.

The woman’s family flew to Del Norte County from Korea on Monday to assist with the search, though Scott said Wednesday that he’s warned them that it’s extremely dangerous.

More than 200 people from a multitude of agencies have joined in the search since the woman was separated from her family, Scott said. This includes ground crews comprised of Del Norte County Search & Rescue volunteers, the Gasquet Hot Shot firefighter crew and Gasquet Fire personnel.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter has also been assisting with the search and rescue effort.

According to the sheriff, the terrain in the area is so steep and brush so dense that four SAR members spent the night on the mountainside because it was too dark to safely traverse the hill.

“One of the members had to be taken to the hospital with mild hypothermia,” Scott said. “The U.S. Coast Guard did come this morning and fly them all out so they didn’t have to traverse the rest of the hill because they were so exhausted.”

The woman’s husband reported her and their adult daughter missing at about 8 p.m. Friday. Search and rescue personnel found the daughter on Saturday and transported her to Sutter Coast Hospital where she was treated for mild hypothermia. She was released on Monday, according to Scott.

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