The strange disappearance of Chet Hanson from Mount Rainier

November 6, 2017 StrangeOutdoors

Chet E Hanson, disappeared November 11th, 1997, Deer Creek Trailhead, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington.

Revised July 2024

Chet Hanson, 27, was a keen photographer of the outdoors and nature who lived in Wilkeson, Washington.

On November 11, 1997, Chet left his home at 6:30 a.m. for a photography trip in Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington. His mother said goodbye as he left, and he told her that he would be back in time for dinner that day. He took around 35 pounds of camera equipment with him, including lenses and a tripod. He was dressed lightly in shorts and a fleece and wore hiking/trail boots.

Shriner trail, ount Rainier

Unfortunately, he didn't show up for dinner as planned that evening, but his parents weren't overly concerned that first night as they believed he may have been staying with friends. On Wednesday, November 12, his employer, Alaska Airways, phoned the parents to inform them to say he hadn't turned up at work as expected at 2:30 p.m., and he was reported missing.

The search for Chet Hanson

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Friends and family started a search, and his car was found at the Deer Creek Falls Trailhead in the park. Wilkeson police were informed of Chet's disappearance, and then subsequently park rangers. The car was opened, and a set of negatives, a key ring with a set of house keys, a glasses case, and some miscellaneous papers were found. One negative was from Highway 410, and the other was a photograph from the Tipsoo Lake area.

Shriner peak lookout, Mount Rainier

Chet was a strong hiker and knew the Mount Rainier area well, tending to walk cross-country and avoiding the trails. He had been focusing on photographing waterfalls and lakes recently, which gave the searchers some valuable clues to his likely destination the day he went to the park. Willard Olson and his girlfriend reported that they had seen someone who fitted Chet's description at Shriner Peak on November 11 at around noon.

Despite an extensive search with sniffer dogs, cadaver dogs, and at least 100 searchers, neither Chet nor his precious camera equipment was ever found. He had disappeared off the face of the earth.

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