WA WA - Heather Jeannette McAlister, 27, Goldendale, Klickitat County, 3 July 2019

[ChatteringBirds]

I hope she's alive and well. If she was abducted during hitch-hiking, she could have been driven anywhere, though.

 

[Pennysmom1]

Heather Jeannette McAlister – The Charley Project

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McAlister, circa 2019; McAlister's wedding ring

• Race White
• Date of Birth 12/26/1991 (33)
• Age 27 years old
• Height and Weight 5'0, 100 pounds
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• Clothing/Jewelry Description A green and White dress, black and White Converse shoes and a White gold and diamond wedding ring. A photo of the ring is posted with this case summary.
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• Medical Conditions McAlister suffers from mental illness. She may be confused or disoriented and may be in need of medical attention.
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• Distinguishing Characteristics White female. Brown hair, blue eyes. McAlister may dye her hair blonde and cut it shorter. Her ears are pierced. She may use the last name McCowan-McAlister.

 

[Orbweaver]

This is an extraordinarily rural area. I’ve spent many hours on SR 142. It’s one of my favorite roads in the U.S. I used to rent weekend cabins between Klickitat and Goldendale around ‘18 and ‘19, even planned on buying property there. There are many places to disappear along this road and at the lower mileposts, it carves up a steep canyon with sheer drops. It would be a horrific and arduous walk on this portion.

Looking at her last seen location and where some of her belongings were found, it appears she (or her things) were headed away from The Dallas and toward Goldendale. At least that’s the route I would take.

Do we know where she walked away from? There are so sooo few places between Klickitat and Goldendale.

I’ve included the mileposts on the WDOT ArcGIS (I’m terrible with ArcGIS, sorry) and photos from Apple Maps of the location where her belongings were found. Passing the nearby Blockhouse Garrison is how I always knew I was only a few minutes away from a cold beer and hot burger at the Top Hat. It’s a very very small town.

 

[Orbweaver]

Adding to my previous comment - the police offered her a ride close to the top of the winding ravine section of that road. There are virtually no turn offs, residences, or businesses near there. If she received a ride to the top of the hill/mountain - why did she get out? Why was she walking? It seems to me that it would be incredibly unlikely that she got a ride from someone who ended their travel near MP 22 or even MP’s 15-22. It’s just one of the least likely spot I could imagine seeing a young woman walking alone and I’ve done a lot of backroad traveling and hitchhiking in my life.

The timing adds some dimension to this, though. Typically, I would expect this road to almost exclusively be traveled by locals but Klickitat is a big sport fishing town and Goldendale dubs itself the “Sportsman’s Paradise” (it’s a big vintage banner over the entrance of town), so there would likely be increased traffic for the holiday, campers and fishers. I imagine any local would stop for a woman on this road, knowing how desolate and rugged it is but the holiday broadens the net of potential rides substantially.