On 10-12-2015 at approximately 6 p.m. Nichole and Mark Vanderschelden of Forks went mushroom picking in a wooded area about 10 miles north of Forks. Shortly after the outing began Mark and Nichole became separated. Nichole subsequently lost her way in the woods and Mark began searching for her himself.

Nichole was dressed in lightweight clothing and poorly equipped to spend a night in the woods. When Mark failed to locate his wife he called the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Ed Anderson was dispatched. After conferring with Mark, Deputy Anderson contacted the Search and Rescue (SAR) unit of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

Headed up by Detective Jim McLaughlin the SAR unit responded with a group of 10 volunteers to come to Forks to search for Nichole. Rayonier security officer Tim Pinard provided access to the wooded area where the hike began by opening gates.

The SAR unit searched the area using four teams of two persons. Nichole was located after about an hour of searching. She was found cold but in good health standing in shallow water of the SolDuc River. The terrain was rugged and steep and it took the teams until after 0115 hours to bring Nichole out of the woods to a safe and dry spot. SAR volunteers provided Nichole with dry clothing, food and water to assist her in recovering from this incident before she went home.