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UPDATE: 

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office identified the missing Canadian hiker as Rick Raymond Eastep of Ontario.

The 32 year old apparently sent a text on Monday saying he had been injured but the message was not received until late Wednesday.

An extensive ground search by numerous agencies is ongoing.

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As last night’s stormy weather threw high waves at the Lost Coast, multiple agencies searched for a missing Canadian hiker. Shelter Cove Fire Department spokesperson Nick Pape said his crew had “been working it since 7:50 last night.”

Shelter Cove Fire, Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue, Cal Fire, the Coast Guard and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office have been searching for a “guy hiking the Lost Coast from out of the area,” according to Pape.

The man was traveling the famous remote trail north of Shelter Cove. According to Cheryl Antony, spokesperson for Shelter Cove Fire, “[The hiker’s] car is in the parking lot. … He texted someone three days ago saying he hurt his back and was at Miller’s Flat.”


“He was supposed to show up two days ago,” Pape told us. But last night was when searchers learned he hadn’t shown up.

“Last night it was a bad storm, high waves on the beach,” Pape said, adding the searchers still went out.

Antony explained that the searchers had traveled over seven miles up the beach before having to return as high waves might have blocked the return trail.
“They found an empty back pack … and not too far away some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) but they don’t know if they are related,” Antony told us.

The searchers will be gathering this morning and putting together a search plan. “We’ll know more about 8 or 9,” Pape explained.

As soon as we get more information, we’ll update.

The HCSO tweeted that Bureau of Land Management employees are also involved in the search.

Release from the HCSO:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Canadian man reportedly injured while hiking the Lost Coast Trail.

On Jan. 9, 2019, at about 9:30 p.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Lost Coast Trail for the report of a missing hiker with possible injuries. The hiker, identified as 32-year-old Rick Raymond Eastep of Ontario, Canada, sent a text to the reporting party indicating that he had been injured while hiking the trail, possibly near the Miller Flat area.

The reporting party told dispatchers that though the text appeared to have been sent on Monday, Jan. 7, it was not received until late Wednesday.

Sheriff’s deputies, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Posse, Southern Humboldt Technical Rescue, Shelter Cove Fire, CAL FIRE, Bureau of Land Management and the Coast Guard are currently searching for Eastep. Search and rescue teams have conducted an extensive ground search of the area. A Coast Guard helicopter has also assisted in the search.

Anyone with information regarding Eastep’s whereabouts should contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251. 

Editor's note: This report first appeared on kymkemp.com and is reposted here with permission.