Missing Cowlitz teen found safe

A teen who went missing in Cowlitz County earlier this week was found safe Thursday morning, police said.

Evan Byman, 15, told his parents he went into the woods for a weeklong camping trip on Monday and said they shouldn’t try to find him. Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office deputies and volunteers searched for the boy throughout the week but was unable to find him.

Someone saw a young man walking on Eufala Heights Road around 8 a.m. Thursday. While police went to investigate, Byman’s family called 911 to report he had come home.

“Evan was in good shape and medical treatment was not needed,” the sheriff’s office said in a release.

He built a shelter and camped in a wooded area off the end of Eufala Heights. He didn’t know people were looking for him, the bulletin said.

“The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office is very happy that Evan is home safe and everything turned out alright.”, said Chief Deputy Corey Huffine. “We have a great group volunteers who dropped everything to help look for Evan, and I would like to thank them and the local citizens who took the time to call in and help us during the search.”