Missing hiker found safe after very cold night in Gorge

YACOLT, Wash. - Rescue teams found a missing hiker who had spent the night outside in freezing temperatures.

Paul Turner had left his home in Hillsboro on Sunday morning to go on a day hike near Yacolt. When he did not return on Monday morning, his wife called the police.

The only clue to Turner's location was a topographical map he had left on the dining room table. His wife handed the map to rescue crews, hoping it would lead them to Turner.

Skamania and Clark county crews spent the morning scouring wilderness roads, trying to spot Turner's red pickup truck. Eventually, they found it.

"The driver looked out the window and noticed this red pickup driving on the spur we were going to check out," said Steve Reese with the North County Volcano Rescue Team.

It turns out, Turner had hiked for six miles when he fell on an icy patch. He got through the freezing night by building a fire. In the morning, Turner hiked back to his truck and was headed home when rescue crews spotted him.

They brought him back to the fire station in Yacolt, and he went home to an anxious wife on Monday evening.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet," Turner said. "I'm sure she's annoyed."