Missing

"Only a few searchers were left at Deception Pass State Park on Friday evening, about 48 hours after a 12-year-old boy disappeared while hiking with his family."

“Only a few searchers were left at Deception Pass State Park on Friday evening, about 48 hours after a 12-year-old boy disappeared while hiking with his family.Jonathan Camacho of Draper, Utah, was hiking with his mother, twin brother and a cousin near the bridge Wednesday afternoon when they noticed he was missing. Friday afternoon, Park Manager Bill Overby said searchers are fairly certain that Camacho fell off a bluff into the swirling waters of Deception Pass, although his body hasn’t been found.He said tracking dogs helped searchers identify the spot from which they believe Camacho fell. The site also had a prominent scuff mark. It’s on a rocky bluff about 100 feet above the water – 80 feet of which is a vertical fall – in a place where there is no beach, about 200 feet west of the bridge on the Whidbey side.Searchers also found a small toy that they believe was Camacho’s near the bluff, Overby said.Camacho was last seen about 3 p.m. Wednesday. The 911 report was made at 4:44 p.m.Overby said the family was walking down a trail towards North Beach when the 12-year-old boy started turning west toward the bridge. His family members told him to follow them to the beach and he appeared to follow. They kept on walking to the beach and didn’t notice until later that he wasn’t with them.Camacho is described as being of slight build, about 5-foot-3, 90 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. The Boy Scout was last seen wearing a blue and white checkered shirt and jeans.Local law enforcement printed a digital photo of the boy’s identical twin, Jason, on fliers that were passed around the park.The boys and their mother, Patrea, were visiting relatives in the Oak Harbor area. They traveled to the island with a cousin from Logan, Utah. The boys’ father, Byron, is a Utah highway patrol officer. He flew to Whidbey Island to be with his family Thursday.Jonathan also has two older brothers, Jered and Christopher.The family released a statement Friday thanking the searches. Our home is in Utah, where we must soon return, it states. But we will carry back memories of Whidbey Island and the persons whose hearts and prayers have eased our trouble.Overby said an extraordinary number of searchers from seven counties starting showing up immediately after the news about the missing boy was broadcast. He said well over 100 people helped with the search, including local recreational divers, rappellers, a Navy helicopter team, many local fisherman, firefighters, and law enforcement from all the local agencies.King County’s Guardian 1 helicopter team conducted an aerial search Wednesday night, using a thermal imager to locate heat sources in the dark. One potential site turned out to be an old camp fire instead of a lost boy.Overby said 15 different search and rescue dogs, including several bloodhound teams from the Bellingham area, helped in the search. The dogs were a help in focusing the search to a relatively small area within the 4,100 acre park.The large ground search was officially called off Thursday night, but the park staff will continue searching the beaches over the weekend. Boats from the Island County Sheriff’s Office will also continue a grid search of the area. The Navy may search with helicopters.There is a chance that the boy’s body may never be found. Even at slack tide, which is when searchers believe Camacho fell in, the waters swirl violently. Overby said a body could be taken many miles away in the powerful currents or get caught in kelp beds.Yet of the bodies that have gone into the water at Deception Pass, More have been recovered than lost, Overby said.”