Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Washington County Search and Rescue, Tillamook County Emergency Management, Oregon Department of Forestry, along with helicopters from the Army National Guard continue the search for two campers that were reported missing when they failed to return to the camp early Tuesday morning. Justin Norton, 35, and Nicholas Santangelo, 53, were traveling the forest roads in the area of Cedar Creek and Jones Creek, off Hwy 6, in a 1998 dark blue Ford Explorer, license plate WBR922.
The Sheriff’s Office was notified at around 11 a.m. Tuesday and the Tillamook Search and Rescue team was activated. The search continues today and the search area has been expanded in both size and number of searchers.
All of the main roads and trails in the area have been searched and teams continue to expand beyond the immediate area. The Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office knows that this area of the Tillamook Forest Area is a busy recreational area, especially on the weekend. The first message is safety, please exercise extra caution as there are numerous searchers on many of the trails who are walking or riding slowly as they search on foot, on ATVs and on trail bikes. Secondly, with the weekend for many starting this afternoon, it is normal that there are many more campers and visitors visiting in the Wilson River Drainage area of the Tillamook Forest. The Sheriff’s Office asks for everyone to keep an extra eye out for anything abnormal and report these finding to the Search and Rescue Command site at the US Forestry Center which is in the Diamond Mill area of Highway 6. Look for and report your finding at the green tents in the parking area near the Visitor’s Center. You can also contact the Sheriff’s Office at 503-842-2561.
