Girl, 9, Missing On Hike Near Mt. Pilchuck

GRANITE FALLS - More than 50 Snohomish County searchers and several search-dog teams yesterday found gear belonging to a Marysville girl who disappeared minutes away from her father on a Cascade mountain trail Friday afternoon.

A camping trip for the girl and her father turned into a nightmare when she started off on a trail near Boardman Lake in eastern Snohomish County near Mount Pilchuck about 2:30 p.m. Friday and he was unable to catch up with her.

Authorities said Paige Adriance and her father, Reid, were on their first camping trip alone. Adriance had frequently gone camping with his two older sons, 13 and 11, but had never taken his daughter for a trip together.

The two were staying at a campsite east of Boardman Lake, Snohomish County sheriff's spokesman Elliott Woodall said.

On Friday, they were going to hike on a trail along the lake, but Paige, a fourth-grader at Pinewood Elementary School in Marysville, started off on the trail alone before her father had packed his gear for the hike.

"She got packed and ready and then she struck out by herself," said Woodall. "The father didn't see her again."

After frantically searching, Adriance called the sheriff's office. By 6:30 p.m. Friday, the Snohomish County Search and Rescue volunteer team was combing the area. Her mother Deborah Adriance was also at the search center.

The trail Paige apparently took heads north of the lake. Officials believe she wandered off the trail. Her blue backpack and her multicolored baseball cap were found yesterday, a few yards from the path.

The searchers also found a packet of M&Ms sitting on a log, next to the pack, leading them to believe she had stopped for a snack.

Yesterday afternoon, her cap was found a short distance away in a steep ravine.

Heavy rain and cold winds swooped into the campsite at mid-afternoon yesterday - about 24 hours after the girl disappeared. Fog also covered the area, preventing a search helicopter from flying in.

The weather caused the rescue team much discomfort. "The longer the search goes and the worse the weather gets, the more difficult this is going to be for everyone," said Woodall.

The girl is described as petite, with blue eyes and blond hair. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and a pair of shorts over leggings.

The search party yesterday included friends and neighbors of the family.

Dennis O'Brien, a friend, said Paige is a "confident" child. "She's a typical 9-year-old, full of spunk. It's difficult for the family right now with all the waiting."

O'Brien said the finding of the backpack and cap raised hopes.

"It's one more sign that we're on the right path and we're concentrating on the area where she was," O'Brien said.

Howard Wilheim, a leader of the volunteer searchers, said at least 40 volunteers have been working in shifts since Friday, cutting short holiday plans.

Wilheim and his family were planning to be in the Edmonds Fourth of July parade.

"This is more important; if we can find this little girl, that will be our celebration," Wilheim said.

As the rain continued yesterday afternoon, hopes dimmed and fears increased.

"The area around the trail is so rough that it's difficult for even the dogs to climb over. We're trying to pick up the girl's scent; all we can do is hope," said Dick Reininger with the German Shepherd Search Dog Team, one of several canine teams involved in the search.