News Release

Two Searches Continue for Overdue Hikers

News Release Date: June 25, 2020

Contact: Patti Wold, 360-569-6701

June 25, 2020, Ashford, WA—Today, Mount Rainier National Park rangers and Mountain Rescue Association teams continued to search for Vincent Djie in the Longmire area and Talal Sabbagh at Paradise. Both men remain missing.

Mount Rainier National Park is not requesting assistance from the public in either search. Dangerous late spring conditions, including widespread unstable snow bridges exist putting independent searchers at risk and potentially creating new incidents, in addition to possibly obscuring important clues to Sabbah’s whereabouts. These accidents with independent search parties would divert professional search teams from the searches for Djie and Sabbagh.

Search 1 of 2, Longmire
Longmire, WA—Thursday, June 25, 2020 was the third day of searching for Vincent Djie and the sixth day since he was last seen. Today, technical rescue teams joined in ground operations to access steep, hazardous terrain.  Alternative aviation assets also assisted in the operation. Thirty-one people were involved in today’s search. Ground and aerial searches will continue into the future. There will be no further updates to this operation until the search comes to a conclusion.

Djie, a 25-year-old Indonesian student who has been living in Seattle, was last seen Friday, June 19, at 3:00 pm hiking the Van Trump Trail toward Mildred Point. Djie failed to return home on June 19th and was reported missing to the Pierce County Sherriff’s Office. On Monday, June 22, a “Be On The Look Out” or BOLO was issued by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office for Djie’s vehicle which was subsequently found at Longmire, within Mount Rainier National Park.

Djie was wearing black pants, and a blue and white tie dye shirt, and carrying a small drawstring-type bag. If you have any information regarding his current location, please call [phone].

Currently, most park trails are melted out to approximately 5,000 feet elevation, with patchy snow on trails and drainages at lower elevations.

The park is working closely with the Indonesian Consulate in San Francisco, CA and family members. Tacoma Mountain Rescue, Seattle Mountain Rescue, Olympic Mountain Rescue, German Shepherd Search Dog Team, Volcano Rescue Team, Washington State SAR Planning Unit, and Mount Rainier National Park Search and Rescue teams have participated in the search. This operation is one of two major searches currently underway in the park.

Search 2 of 2, Paradise
June 25, 2020, Paradise, WA—Today was day four of the search for Talah Sabbagh. Ground search efforts focused on drainages, hazardous terrain requiring technical equipment to access, and the areas of highest probability. Air operations concentrated on the location Sabbagh was last seen, open areas, and observation of holes, moats, and terrain traps. Thirty-three personnel assisted in today’s operation.


Talal Sabbagh, 27-year-old, from Seattle, was reported missing on Monday, June 22. He was last seen in hiking in Paradise on Sunday, June 21, 2020. Rangers located his vehicle in the parking lot at Paradise.

He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt under a black jacket, black shorts, and dark Nike shoes. If you have any information regarding his current location, please call [phone].

The park is coordinating with his family. Seattle, Central, Olympic, and Everett Mountain Rescues, Pierce County Explorers, Volcano Rescue Team, and Mount Rainier National Park have contributed to search efforts.

NPS