Sage Adams
MARBLEMOUNT — The search for a missing 10-year-old boy last seen July 7 as he kayaked down the Skagit River east of Marblemount has been called off.
After nearly a week of searching for Sage Adams by water, land and air, the mission to find the missing child eventually turned into a recovery mission and is now being called off pending any new information or sightings of the boy's presumed body, Skagit County Undersheriff Chad Clark said.
Sage and his father, who are from Chehalis, were camping in the area and took their kayaks on the river in the evening of July 7. The boy's father fell out of his kayak near an area of rapids and had to swim to shore on the river's east side, away from the road, Clark said.
The father last saw his son as his son's kayak headed downstream. Unable to cross the river for help, the father had to spend the night in the wilderness before being able to use a log to cross the river last Wednesday morning, Clark said.
The man hitched a ride to the pair's campsite, which was located east of where the father and son had been kayaking near milepost 119. From there, the father drove into Marblemount and called 911.
Since then, the Sheriff's Office -- with help from agencies like the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, the Navy, Coast Guard, and Border and Customs Protection -- has utilized helicopters, aerial drone units, boats, rafts, ground personnel, search dogs, and, eventually, cadaver dogs and dive teams to attempt to locate the boy.
While the boy's kayak and life vest were found during the search, the child has not been.
On Monday, after a weekend of extensive searching, crews from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office utilized sonar equipment to assist in the search and hit on a point of interest in the river, Clark said.
However, divers from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office confirmed Tuesday that it was not the missing boy. His family was notified that the search was ending, Clark said.
No foul play is suspected in Sage's disappearance, he said.
"This appears to be a tragic accident on the river," Clark said.
Though the search is officially being called off, Clark said that the Sheriff's Office, which does monthly trainings on the water, will focus those trainings upriver in case the boy's body surfaces.
-- Reporter Kera Wanielista: 360-416-2141, kwanielista@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @Kera_SVH, facebook.com/KeraReports
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