WA WA - Joel Wellman, 29, Buckley, 31 Jan 2020

[PommyMommy]

Rainier School student, 29, missing after night in storm-tossed woods near Buckley

Searchers on Saturday were looking for a student who walked away from Rainier School in Buckley just before Friday night’s wind and rainstorm. He was last seen at the school around 6 p.m. Friday.

Search and rescue personnel immediately launched a search for Joel A. Wellman, 29, on Friday but had to suspend it due to gusting winds and falling branches, Pierce Co. Sheriff’s Dept spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The search was resumed at daybreak on Saturday.

Rainier State School - Google Maps

 

[realanastasia]

More info on the place from which this man is missing (
Rainier School | DSHS)
“Rainier School is a habilitation center for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities located within the city limits of Buckley, Washington about a mile-and-a-half from downtown. The campus is situated in a peaceful country setting with a unique and prominent view of Mount Rainier.

Today, Rainier School's population is about 310 adults with a wide variety of abilities and needs. 24-hour residential care and teaching is provided in the areas of work or vocational training, leisure activities, social relationships, and everyday life tasks. Programs and services are individualized and designed to enhance self-determination and maximize independence.

The Rainier School community includes:

• Medical, dental and nursing care;
• Social and psychological services;
• Occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy evaluations, treatment and adaptive equipment;
• Vocational training and employment in paid jobs on-campus and in local communities, including operating the Rainier Thrift and Gift store located in Buckley, Washington;
• Recreation facilities include a gymnasium, a bowling alley and a social center, evening and weekend leisure opportunities, dances and special/holiday events;
• Residences are home-like and staffed to promote the care and teaching of daily activities, such as grooming, meals, socialization, shopping and money management, and community experiences;
• Nutrition and dietary services, including modified textures and therapeutic diets; and
• A beauty/barber shop, coffee shop, chapel services, volunteers, and other life-enhancing supports and opportunities.

Rainier School is an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID) program certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.“

 

[PommyMommy]

Officers searching for missing, endangered man

• Joel suffers from mental health issues and a developmental delay.
• Officers found Joel’s sweatshirt on a logging road 1.5 miles east of Ryan Rd but the search for him was suspended Friday due to strong wind.
• On Saturday, searchers continued to look for him in the woods throughout the day. The search will resume Sunday.
  
• Joel is white, 6'1" tall, weighs 225 lbs, and has brown hair and green eyes.
• He was last seen wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.
• He can be aggressive towards people and will throw rocks and may run or hide from searchers.

 

[Darling136]

Pierce County sheriff

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

 

[PommyMommy]

A family member is commenting here: Pierce County Sheriff's Department

 

[mlhenn]

A family member is commenting here: Pierce County Sheriff's Department

Pierce County Sheriff's Department
Wow, looks like a few family members are commenting! Some are very interesting.

 

[momrids6]

Edited; In looking further= school is just not an appropriate name for this place. It states it is a non-residential placement, but seems to be an old fashioned institution of sorts

New report slams institution for disabled in Pierce County

 

[PommyMommy]

FEB 4, 2020
Search called off for Rainier School student missing in woods near Buckley
The search has been called off for a developmentally disabled Rainier School student who went missing Friday in a wooded area near Buckley.

More than 100 people spent three days looking for Joel A. Wellman, 29, who is believed to have walked away from a residential rehabilitation center.

[...]

“We are truly devastated by our client’s disappearance,” said Megan DeSmet, Rainier School superintendent. “While we remain hopeful he will return safely, our thoughts are with Joel’s family, friends and the staff at Rainier School who support him.”

[...]

He likes to run and hide and might be hiding from searchers, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Searchers scoured the woods and a thick marshy area, to no avail.

[...]

The Department of Social and Health Services said it will conduct its own investigation as to how Wellman was able to walk away from the school.

Rainier School is a rehabilitation center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. There are 310 adult students, according to DSHS.

 

[PommyMommy]

Edited; In looking further= school is just not an appropriate name for this place. It states it is a non-residential placement, but seems to be an old fashioned institution of sorts

New report slams institution for disabled in Pierce County

OMG, that is horrifying. MOO

 

[momrids6]

OMG, that is horrifying. MOO

It is- even in GA we closed all of the institutions for the disabled. There is Voc Rehab and 1 state hospital.

 

[mlhenn]

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

No new updates, however it looks like the weather has been troublesome there for several days (rain, winds, flooding)

 

[kelsie]

Enumclaw teens drowned, Rainier School resident still missing in separate incidents | Courier-Herald

In Buckley, the search for a missing Rainier School resident has been officially called off.

Joel A. Wellman, 29, was last seen at the school around 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31. When he couldn’t be found, the Pierce County Sheriff’s department immediately began a search, but had to put it on hold due to windy conditions and resumed the next day.

Deputies surmised Wellman, who is developmentally disabled, initially went south, since a sweatshirt of his was found on a Hancock logging road a little more than a mile away from the school. It was reported he was wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes; he’s 6-foot-1, weighs 225 pounds, and has brown hair and green eyes.

Authorities reported that Wellman can be aggressive towards people and will throw rocks, and may run or hide from searchers.

 

[siliconrod]

Is Joel still missing. The last MSM update is from early Feb.

 

[mlhenn]

Is Joel still missing. The last MSM update is from early Feb.

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

I apologize; I couldn’t get the specific post on the Pierce Co Sheriff’s fb to link. You’ll have to scroll to find it after clicking on link above.

According to his sister (MW), he has not been located. She posted that update this evening (April 11).

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

I apologize; I couldn’t get the specific post on the Pierce Co Sheriff’s fb to link. You’ll have to scroll to find it after clicking on link above.

According to his sister (MW), he has not been located. She posted that update this evening (April 11).

Here is the permalink to that post by the PCSD about Joel Wellman, that his sister is commenting on. MW's most recent reply stating that Joel is still missing, is in the replies under a comment made by MW 6 weeks ago.

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

 

[mlhenn]

Here is the permalink to that post by the PCSD about Joel Wellman, that his sister is commenting on. MW's most recent reply stating that Joel is still missing, is in the replies under a comment made by MW 6 weeks ago.

Pierce County Sheriff's Department

Thank you.

 

[TatianaBarbie]

Thank you.

No problem! Posts get buried quickly on most LE Facebook pages.

 

[lindamichelle1]

Found this article - he was never found
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article254803547.html

 

[mlhenn]

Found this article - he was never found
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article254803547.html

Oct 06, 2021
Loved ones of a man who went missing from a Department of Social and Health Services facility in Buckley and was never found have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the state.

Joel Wellman, 29, walked away from Rainier School just before a storm Jan. 31, 2020. His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state, alleging the rehabilitation facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities failed to properly supervise residents. The state agreed to settle the lawsuit for $2.25 million this week.

Read more at: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article254803547.html#storylink=cpy

 

[sasha17]

Joel's story is mentioned in this news article from 2022: Disability rights group sues DSHS, Rainier School | Courier-Herald

"In early 2020, Joel A. Wellman left the facility and was never found, even after a weekend-long search involving more than 100 first responders, various officials, and volunteers. Wellman’s family said the Rainier School was well aware of his penchant for wandering away, but the facility never adjusted his supervision; an official complaint was lodged, alleging the Rainier School did not provide Wellman with adequate care."