Pickup truck found, man still missing

A days-long search has become a law-enforcement investigation, now that a missing wood-cutter’s pickup has been found on the Colville Indian Reservation.

Leonard J. Bauer “is still a missing person,” said Chief Deputy Dave Rodriguez of the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office. “We don’t have a body or any evidence of violence, but somebody took some suspicious steps with the vehicle that indicate that things aren’t on the up-and-up.”

Bauer, 40, who was raised in the Western Washington town of Sedro Woolley and now lives east of Tonasket, has been missing since Nov. 7 when he went into the Okanogan National Forest to cut firewood, Rodriguez said. The search began Nov. 8, and was concentrated on a big patch of forest south of state Highway 20 and north of the reservation.

“He has a pretty big area with hundreds of miles of roads where he cuts wood,” said Rodriguez.

The search continued for five days, at times employing helicopters from Fairchild Air Force Base, airplanes, search dogs and volunteers from Ferry and Okanogan counties. Bauer’s family from Okanogan County and northwestern Washington also joined the search.

“One of the family members hired a private helicopter out of Spokane for one day,” Rodriguez said.

The break came Friday when a school bus driver, who had heard about the search on local radio stations, reported seeing Bauer’s white Toyota pickup parked in a field near Camp Disautel. The site is just off state Highway 155, about 20 miles south of the search area.

“We found the vehicle in a pretty suspicious state,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t really go into details but somebody took steps to cover any evidence that may have been in the vehicle.”

The tribal police department is assisting with the investigation, he said.