TYEE – A Drain couple died in motor vehicle accident on Weyerhaeuser timber company property west of Tyee sometime in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 24. Douglas County Search and Rescue volunteers assisted in recovering the remains from the hillside Sunday morning.
Douglas County 9-1-1 was alerted to the accident at about 5 pm Saturday via satellite-assisted Text-to-911. The texter, who had been scouting before bear hunting season, said two people had been spotted from a distance on a very steep embankment in the Brush Creek area and they both appeared deceased.
Deputies from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area and located marks in the roadway consistent with a westbound vehicle leaving BLM road 24-8-35 1 and rolling down the hill.
Using ropes, deputies traversed the embankment and located the bodies of Anthony W. Forbes, 55, and Mandi S. Forbes, 50, about 215 feet down from the roadway. Records indicate the Forbes’ were married and both lived in Drain.
The 1986 Suzuki Samurai continued to roll past where their bodies were ejected. It eventually came to rest, heavily damaged, about 500 feet from the roadway in a small ravine.
Search and Rescue volunteers and members of Central Douglas Fire and Rescue’s Steep Angle Rescue Team were assembled Saturday, but determined it was unsafe to recover the bodies until daylight. Several personnel remained in the area overnigh,t and teams regrouped Sunday morning.
According to responders, the slope angle in this area was between 27 and 50 degrees. This was previously clearcut area, had low vegetation growth and very thick brush. Nearly 15 responders worked together to complete the strenuous recovery.
Evidence on scene showed the Forbes’ had a permit to be on Weyerhaeuser property and that alcohol may have been a factor in the crash. Seatbelts were not used. Deputies believe the crash occurred several hours before the bodies were discovered.
