Missing hiker found a month after his dog was rescued from trail, Washington cops say
UPDATE: New details from the missing hiker’s rescue were added to the story below.
A missing hiker turned up nearly a month after his dog was discovered on a remote trail in a Washington national park, deputies said.
Robert Schock, 39, was last seen by hikers July 31 near the Chilliwack River in the North Cascades National Park, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said in a Sept. 4 email to McClatchy News.
The hikers said he wasn’t carrying any overnight supplies, deputies said.
His vehicle was then found abandoned at the Hannegan Pass Trailhead on Aug. 3, and his dog was found 8 miles down the trail, deputies said.
The car windows were rolled down, and his wallet was left on the dashboard, prompting search efforts for Schock.
More teams looked for him Aug. 7 by helicopter and by foot, followed by a “detailed ground search up to Hannegan Pass” on Aug. 15, deputies said.
The U.S. Border Patrol even scanned the Chilliwack Basin area by helicopter and sent people onto the trail where his dog was found.
But no one could find Schock.
Rangers then learned he was found Aug. 30 in the Chilliwack Basin, “alive and well,” deputies said.
Jeff Kish, the executive director of Pacific Northwest Trail Association, said Schock was not in good shape when the nonprofit’s trail crew found him.
“Robert was found alive, but not well,” Kish said in the Sept. 4 Facebook post.
Missing hiker heard yelling
His mother, Jan Thompson, told the Cascadia Daily News a trail team had been working on the Chilliwack River Trail when they heard him yelling for help.
Schock told his mother he had gotten confused on the direction of the trail and became lost.
“We’re really in disbelief about this,” she told the news outlet.
Kish said his team believed Schock “may have only had another day left in him before the outcome of his discovery would have been much more tragic.”
He also praised the trail team’s hard work in the rescue.
“What they did this weekend was above and beyond anything that I think anyone could have reasonably expected of them,” Kish said. “They saved Robert’s life against improbable odds, and at great psychological toll.”
“This is what heroes look like,” he said.
The Hannegan Pass Trailhead forks to the Chilliwack River Trail after about 5 miles, according to the Washington Trails Association.
The trail takes hikers along the Chilliwack River for another 5 miles until there’s river crossing with a cable car but no bridge.
In total, the Chilliwack River Trail is over 17 miles long, one way.
This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Missing hiker found a month after his dog was rescued from trail, Washington cops say."
