The sister of a Kentucky man who went missing in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest around October 2015 says more information has since popped up regarding his disappearance, and the family is asking people to continue keeping an eye out.
Glenn “Austin” Oldfield, of Louisville, Ky., planned to spend two weeks camping in Southwest Washington, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
The last contact he had with any friends or family, a text message to his girlfriend, was Sept. 17, 2015, around when he headed west. He was reported missing Oct. 2 after not checking in the day before.
Oldfield, who would be about 40 now, was last spotted near Lone Butte, about 31 miles north of Carson, by a couple of hunters. He told them he was lost but ran off when the hunters offered to show him the way to the road, the sheriff’s office said.
Pamela Dixon, his sister, said the family later learned that a father and daughter encountered Oldfield on Sept. 19 after he met the hunters. They said he was friendly, albeit not making much sense.
They drove him from a more remote area toward Trout Lake.
They didn’t make the connection that he was the missing man until later.
That means the initial searches, around his campsite east of Lone Butte Snow Park, found little because he had already left.
Since Oldfield first went missing and officials made their earlier searches, the family has heard of multiple sightings or rumors, many nebulous or incorrect, Dixon said. She said the family is hoping for more information and more searches.
“I understand the trail has grown a bit cold, but at one point it was warm,” Dixon said.
Skamania County Undersheriff Pat Bond said the search is ongoing, and the office plans on more searches when conditions allow and it has quality information about his possible last whereabouts.
Considering some of the last interactions people had with him, Bond said, the sheriff’s office is concerned for his well-being.
Anyone with information about Oldfield’s whereabouts is asked to call the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office at 509-427-9490.
Dixon is soliciting tips and providing information about the search for her missing brother on a Facebook page titled Austin Oldfield: Facts about the Search.
