Aberdeen police drone locates lost mushroom hunters in wooded area

A drone helped Aberdeen police find two mushroom hunters after they got turned around in the woods near the 1100 block of Basich Boulevard, turning a routine foray into a rescue that ended with trespassing citations. Officers were dispatched at about 9:50 a.m. Monday after a woman said she and a friend had been dropped off around 4 a.m. and could no longer find their way out.

By the time help arrived, the pair said they were running low on water and becoming overheated. Grays Harbor 911 helped narrow the search area, and the woman eventually reached a small clearing about half a mile from Basich Boulevard. A drone operator spotted her from the air, and officers then pushed in by off-road vehicle through thick brush to reach both people. Aberdeen Fire Department medics checked them after they were escorted out.

Investigators later found a vehicle hidden in the woods that belonged to one of the individuals. Police determined the pair had driven around posted No Trespassing signs to enter the area, then cited both for trespassing and released them at the scene. The case shows how a mushroom hunt that starts before dawn can end as a public-safety call when the woods get tighter, the route back gets fuzzy, and the heat starts to rise.

That risk is not rare. Regional reporting in late 2024 said at least three mushroom hunters were rescued in Oregon and Washington in a single week, a reminder that foraging season brings its own search-and-rescue pattern. The Puget Sound Mycological Society says the greatest danger for mushroom hunters is getting lost and spending much more time in the woods than planned, especially when foragers leave the trail and move away from obvious landmarks.

The simplest defenses are the ones that matter most in a dense stand of timber: carry enough water, keep drinking even if you do not feel thirsty, and treat heat as a real threat. The National Weather Service advises outdoor visitors to stay hydrated, and the Washington State Department of Health says extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. Bright clothing also helps when mushroom season overlaps deer and elk hunting seasons, and a charged phone is only useful if it stays with you and stays on.

In Aberdeen, the rescue hinged on a drone, but the real lesson was older than the technology: once the woods close in near town, getting found can depend on how well you prepared before the first patch of brush swallowed the trail.