
July 19, 2019
PORT TOWNSEND – A 55-year-old Forks woman reported missing Thursday morning was found uninjured five hours later walking along State Route 104 in Jefferson County.
Motorists reported seeing the Forks woman just after 4 p.m. Thursday. She was allegedly standing on the shoulder of State Route 104 west of Sandy Shore Road, staring into the woods. Witnesses observed no vehicles nearby. Washington State Patrol (WSP) Troopers contacted the woman and later learned she was reported as a missing/endangered person by the Port Gamble S’klallam Tribe Department of Public Safety just before 11 a.m. She also was diagnosed schizophrenic.
Troopers were able to contact the woman’s mother, who stated she wandered off earlier that morning at The Point Casino in Kingston. Troopers transported the woman back to her mother’s care.
The success of finding the Forks woman was due to the partnership of an alert public, law enforcement and the Endangered Missing Person Advisory Plan. The advisory plan is designed for missing persons unable to return safely without assistance, often due to medical issues, mental health, age, or severe weather.
Local agencies with a missing person who fits the criteria can activate a missing person’s report locally, and contact the WSP Missing Persons Unit for a poster to be created and distributed to law enforcement. A missing person’s information is also entered into databases, providing alerts when contacted by law enforcement.
The advisory plan includes Silver Alerts for missing persons 60 years or older and alert signage on Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) signs when a vehicle is involved. WSP is not a primary reporting agency. A missing person must be reported to the local law enforcement agency where they were last seen before WSP is able to assist.
To contact the WSP Missing and Unidentified Persons Unit, call 1-800-543-5678 or email mupu@wsp.wa.gov.