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By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
An Oregon man vanished after he set out to visit Mount St Helens on the anniversary of the volcano’s eruption, as his concerned parents haven’t heard from him since April.
Ben Andersen, 37, had dreams of overcoming a leg injury and returning to the Bigfoot 200 Ultramarathon around the mountain.
But, after visiting the site in late April with his parents, the outdoorsman vanished weeks later in May around the 46th anniversary of the mountain’s catastrophic volcanic eruption.
‘And so, the belief is that something may have happened in the back country when he was on one of the trails. That’s the theory,’ Dale Andersen, the man’s father, told KOIN.
Andersen’s father told Oregon Live that while he and his wife were traveling, they hadn’t heard from their son in several weeks. However, he noted that this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence when Andersen traveled to the mountains.
Suspicions weren’t aroused until they returned home at the beginning of June and still hadn’t heard from Andersen and weren’t able to get in touch with him. Dale flew to Portland for a ‘welfare check’ but found no signs of his son, according to the outlet.
Andersen was reported missing on May 18, with his last known location traced through a GPS signal around a remote forest road Randle in Washington.
‘The first thing we have to do is to find the vehicle before we can begin a search,’ Dale told KOIN.
Ben Anderson, 37, vanished after he set out to visit Mount St Helens in May around the 46th anniversary of the mountain’s catastrophic volcanic eruption
Andersen was reported missing on May 18, with his last known location traced through a GPS signal around a remote forest road Randle in Washington
Dale Andersen, Ben’s father, said that, despite the grueling race, his son was an experienced runner who had been attempting to come back to the scene following a leg injury
He was found to have rented a car on his trip to the mountains, which has yet to be discovered.
‘We’re just placing all the efforts on finding this white Chevrolet Equinox SUV that he drove up there, and, again, it’s a very large area. So, once we locate that, they’re going to start a specific search,’ Dale told Oregon Live.
His parents believe he had been training for the Bigfoot 200, which consists of just over 207 miles of race that peaks at over 45,500 feet in elevation over the course of four days.
Though he had yet to sign up and pay the entry fee costing nearly $1,600, Dale said that his son had expressed his desires to run the marathon.
Dale said that, despite the grueling race, his son was an experienced runner who had been attempting to come back to the scene following a leg injury.
Andersen was found to have rented a car on his trip to the mountains, which has yet to be discovered
His father said that it was likely a ‘recovery mission’ to find his son’s body after so much time had passed. Andersen is described as six feet all, 210 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes
His parents believe he had been training for the Bigfoot 200, which consists of just over 207 miles of race that peaks at over 45,500 feet in elevation over the course of four days
However, the anxious father said that it was likely a ‘recovery mission’ to find his son’s body after so much time had passed.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Andersen is described as six feet tall, 210 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
If you have seen Ben or have information on his whereabouts, please call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 or 9-1-1 if appropriate, and reference Ben Andersen and case number 50-26-8356.
The Daily Mail reached out to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
