In late April, during a visit with his son, Dale Andersen found his son Ben talking about running again after a two-year injury. The 37-year-old Southwest Portland resident was eyeing a return to the grueling Bigfoot 200 ultramarathon — deep in the backcountry around Mount St. Helens.
Weeks later, Ben drove a rented white Chevrolet Equinox into those same mountains. He hasn’t been seen since.
For the experienced outdoorsman who had “fallen in love” with the Pacific Northwest and held a particular fascination with Mount St. Helens, the potential to compete would mark a return to trail running following his leg injury.
Ben had successfully completed 25 miles of the 207.9-mile multi-day course in 2021. This year, he was looking to double his past accomplishment and hit 50 miles. While a daring task for anyone, Ben had experience running numerous past marathons and 50-mile races, his father said.
Though he hadn’t yet signed up for the race, which can cost participants up to $1,600, Dale said his intent was clear. During the late April visit, Ben also shared with his parents that he planned to visit Mount St. Helens the week of May 18 — the 46th anniversary of the mountain’s disastrous volcanic eruption.
While traveling out of the country, Dale said, he and his wife had no contact with their son for several weeks, which was not entirely unusual when Ben set out for the mountains. However, when Dale returned home to the family’s hometown of Minneapolis at the beginning of June and still couldn’t get in touch with his son, he knew something was wrong. He flew to Portland for a “welfare check.”
A day after landing in Portland and finding no trace of his son, Dale reported him missing to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators later traced Ben’s last known GPS signal to NFD Road 25, a remote forest road near Randle, Washington.
The last signal came May 18 — the anniversary of the eruption Ben had set out to commemorate.
Ben’s parents believe he was out training for the Bigfoot 200. The event is unforgiving — a 207.9-mile race gaining 45,563 feet in elevation in just four days.
The event’s website describes the challenge as a “life-changing event,” with the runner’s manual warning that participants often “experience hallucinations and sleep deprivation,” making the route designed for experienced runners.
But Ben was an experienced runner. According to Dale, Ben was taken by the Pacific Northwest as a child, moving from Minneapolis to Portland in 2021 to explore the great outdoors.
“As a family, we went out to Oregon, Washington, Vancouver Island and Idaho quite a bit growing up,” Dale said. “He just fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and decided to move out there, where he really got involved with the Mount St. Helens area and Mount Hood.”
A month and a half after Ben set out for his volcanic journey, there is still no sign of him or his car. Finding that car remains a key priority for Dale and authorities.
“We’re just placing all the efforts on finding this white Chevrolet Equinox SUV that he drove up there, and, again, it’s a very large area, so once we locate that they’re going to start a specific search,” Dale said.
Dale also expressed his sincere gratitude for the efforts of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, saying they’ve “done a great job for us.”
Though the search remains active with the hope of finding Ben alive, Dale conceded that it’s more than likely a “recovery mission” at this point due to the time elapsed.
Ben is described as 6 feet tall and 210 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Officials say that anyone with information should call non-emergency dispatch at 503-629-0111 or 911 if necessary, and reference Ben Andersen and case number 50-26-8356.
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