OLYMPIC NATIONAL FOREST — The search for missing hiker Jeremiah Adams has been scaled back after a four-day sweep of the Buckhorn Wilderness south of Sequim, a Clallam County sheriff’s spokesman said.
Search and rescue teams transitioned Saturday from an active ground search to a “limited continuous” pursuit of a 24-year-old Navy sailor who was last seen in Bremerton May 4, Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King said.
“We’ve covered all those areas of high probability and low probability over the past week multiple times,” King said in a Saturday interview.
“So we’ve scaled back. Most of the continuing operation at this point is going to be looking at those areas where we’re going to need technical teams.”
Olympic Mountain Rescue teams were conducting searches on steep terrain in remote corners of the Buckhorn Wilderness on Saturday.
Ground crews of up to 100 personnel had spent the previous four days looking for Adams in the Gray Wolf River Valley, where Adams’ car was found Monday night, and neighboring basins.
Swift water rescue teams from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Clallam County Fire District No. 3 looked up and down the fast-flowing Gray Wolf River to no avail last week, King said.
Adams, who hails from the Chicago area, serves as a nuclear electrician’s mate second class on the Bremerton-based USS Nimitz.
He is described as an experienced hiker who often treks into the Olympic Mountains.
Adams was last seen when he left for a hike on May 4. He failed to rendezvous with friends for another hike on May 5, King has said.
Fellow sailors found the 2013 Ford Fiesta that Adams was driving at the Lower Gray Wolf trailhead on Monday night.
“Our biggest single clue remains his vehicle at that location,” King said.
U.S. Navy personnel joined Clallam, Kitsap and Mason County search and rescue teams in the week-long search for Adams. Navy and Coast Guard helicopters were deployed.
“Navy personnel have been sent home,” King said Saturday.
“Aircraft flights will continue, but there’s not going to be those organized, active search teams going out into the field unless there are specific areas we identify.”
USS Nimitz officials addressed the disappearance on the ship’s Facebook page Thursday.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with our Sailor and his family during this challenging time,” the post read.
Missing person signs have been placed at popular trailheads in and around the Buckhorn Wilderness, King said.
Adams is about 5-foot-9-inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He has blue eyes and short blond hair.
Clallam County Search and Rescue will respond to any clues they receive about Adams’ whereabouts, King said.
Anyone with information is asked to phone the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office at 360-417-2459.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
