Missing JBLM Soldier Found Dead Near Mt. Whittier

LAKEWOOD, WA — A missing Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier has been found deceased.

Wednesday morning, the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Search & Rescue team mobilized to search for first lieutenant Brian Yang, who had gone missing somewhere in the Coldwater area of Mount St. Helens.

Coldwater Lake can be found on the northern edge of the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, the trailhead a short distance from State Route 504.

Yang, 25, was last seen around noon on Sunday at the Coldwater Trailhead. But while rescuers were searching the area Wednesday, Cowlitz 911 received a call from a group of hikers in the Mt Whittier area. The hikers told dispatchers that they had found an unresponsive man matching Yang's description.

Search and rescue staff diverted to the area, and quickly confirmed that the man was Yang, and that he had died. The Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office says it appears Yang had fallen roughly 200 feet from a nearby steep embankment, though they will continue to investigate his cause of death.