Found in Philbrook

Hunting for Christmas trees in the Philbrook area took a harrowing turn for five people in two separate incidents recently, according to a pair of press releases from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.

The BCSO received a phone call at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday (Dec. 8) reporting a family of four that had gone searching for a tree the previous afternoon and had not returned. Search and rescue teams were dispatched, and located the family around noon. Their vehicle had broken down, and they took shelter overnight in a cabin.

That rescue mission came after a man—65-year-old Wayne Cateron—went missing while looking for a tree in the same area Dec. 2. Cateron also took refuge in an empty cabin, and was found Dec. 4.