Fairchild Airman missing after canoeing trip

By Tyler Hemstreet on April 4, 2012

From Air Force Times: SPOKANE, Wash. - Search teams are looking for a 26-year-old airman from Fairchild Air Force Base who's believed missing after taking his canoe out on the Spokane River.

Friends of James Ramse-Lassiter located his truck on Monday, parked at Riverside State Park at the Bowl and Pitcher area of the river. His canoe has not been found.

The Spokane County sheriff's office says Lassiter went out in his canoe sometime Saturday. Preliminary reports indicate he did not have a helmet, life jacket or exposure suit when he went on that outing.

Sheriff's deputies searched the area by jet boat and jet skis on Monday. Fairchild and the Border Patrol both provided helicopters to aid in the search.

Deputy Craig Chamberlin says searchers have heard from two people who say they saw a canoe Saturday while walking on a trail along the river. That may help focus the search.