Coast Guard Assists Tillamook County Officials Locate Missing Mushroom Picker

The crew passed on the location of the man to the Tillamook County Sherriff’s Department who directed a ground party to the site where they positively identified and recovered Smith

(SEATTLE, Washington) - The Coast Guard assisted the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Department in locating a missing 73-year-old man near Nehalem, Oregon, Sunday.

Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Oregon, received a report that Lawrence Smith was missing at approximately 4 p.m., and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew at 4:07 p.m. to conduct a search in the vicinity of Nehalem.

At 4:25 p.m. the helicopter crew was able to locate a man walking along a logging road near Highway 53 that matched Smith's description.

The crew passed on the location of the man to the Tillamook County Sherriff’s Department who directed a ground party to the site where they positively identified and recovered Smith.

The report was made to the Tillamook County Sherriff’s Department at noon after Smith went missing while picking mushrooms.