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 - 08/15/2016 - Three 14 year old girls who became stranded while floating the river North of Easton had to spend the night on a small rock bar.
On August 13, 2016 at around 8:30 PM, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a report of three missing 14 year old rafters. The three friends from the Bellevue area, Jenna Spiess, Faith Lake, and Jasmine Tran, were staying with Jenna’s family in the Easton area and launched onto a portion of the Upper Yakima River in the Sun Island area of Easton at around 4:30 PM with the intention of making “the loop” around Sun Island, expecting to return within 2 hours. When they did not return, family members searched the road accesses and called the Sheriff's Office.
Using a small inflatable jet boat, the Sheriff’s Office Swift-Water Rescue Team searched the river and tributaries until around 2:00 AM with no results. Because most of the area near the river is road less with heavy timber, brush and multiple tributaries, a request for air support was made. By 7:00 AM Sunday Morning a large team of Search and Rescue volunteers and a helicopter from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office joined the search within 1/2 hour of arriving in the area, The crew from the helicopter spotted the girls on the north side of the Yakima River about 1.5 miles east of where they launched.
The Chelan County helicopter, being operated by Pilot Pete Peterson and Deputy Mike McLeod, made the decision to land in a small clearing near the girls and pick them up. They were flown to the Easton Fire Department where they were reunited with family members. They were cold but un-injured.
(Attached Photo, courtesy of the Easton Fire Department, shows the Chelan County Helicopter landing in Easton to drop off the girls) "These young ladies did the right thing. They told people where they were going and when they expected to return. When they found themselves on the wrong tributary in increasingly more hazardous conditions with log jams and night coming on, they settled in and waited for help. On behalf of the Sheriff's Office, thank you to all of the volunteers and the Chelan County helicopter crew for their efforts in rescuing these girls.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
###
Contact: Clayton Myers, Undersheriffclay.myers@co.Kittitas.wa.us509-925-8534