205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 10/22/2015 - On October 21, 2015, 25 year old Sarah Brandabur of Mercer Island and a friend started to hike into Ingalls Lake from the Esmerelda Basin trailhead in the Teanaway. After her friend became to tired to continue Brandabur continued on to Ingalls Lake alone. Brandabur bacame lost and her friend notified the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office around 8:00pm.
KCSO SAR coordinator responded to the trailhead and remained there for most of the night. A search and rescue group consisting of 5 person backcountry ground team, a 2 person backcountry K9 team and a 2 person radio relay team and the Chelan County helicopter responded to Ingalls Lake to search for Brandabur on morning of October 22nd. Hikers from the day before reported seeing Brandabur just south of Ingalls Lake around the Headlight Basin area. Search and Rescue volunteers began searching the "user-made" trails in Headlight Basin and located tennis shoe prints that matched the description of Brandabur's shoes. While Search and Rescue began following the shoe prints Chelan County received a phone call from a resident on Ingalls Creek Rd advising Brandabur had walked to their home. The residence was located approx. 16 miles from Headlight Basin. Brandabur was not prepared to spend the night in the backcountry, she only had light clothing and no overnight gear. Temperatures had dropped to the mid-20's overnight. Brandabur was cold and tired but was not injured. Brandabur was transported to Cle Elum where she rendezvoused with her friends and family. A special thank you to the American Red Cross and Flying J for providing meals to the search and rescue teams and base personnel.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Darren Higashiyama, Operations Commander (509) 933-8206