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 Coast Guard hoists man to safety near Grays Harbor McAlister and his wife Melissa went on a drive Tuesday morning with two of his four daughters ages 2 years old and 9 months old. They were reported missing Tuesday evening after no one showed up to meet the school bus bringing the older children, ages 5 and 7, home, Shumate said. They got stranded on a logging road when they tried driving around a downed tree and the road gave way, causing their car to get stuck. He said the family tried hiking out Tuesday afternoon, and when it got dark he built a shelter for them on the side of the road. But they were forced to head back to the van Wednesday morning where they spent the night, running the engine for warmth. Jason and Melissa McAlister were last seen on November 15, 2016 at about 7 a.m. in Montesano. According to the sheriff's office, Jason McAlister told deputies he and his wife Melissa had taken their two youngest kids, ages 8 months and 2 years, for a drive into Mason County for some sightseeing. “I figured if I could get back out to the main road we’d find some help,” McAlister said. They arrived early Thursday to the good news that they were found, and everyone was all right. "We just want to see them all back together, all six of them,” Mary McAlister said. Jason McAlister said he was grateful that people cared about him and his family.
– A missing family was found Thursday after two days trapped in their car, surviving on Halloween candy and rain water, KING reports. According to the AP, authorities had been searching rural Washington state for Jason and Melissa McAlister and their two young children, ages 8 months and 2 years. The McAlisters were reported missing Tuesday night after they failed to pick their older children up from the school bus. Their landlord told authorities that Jason had talked about going for a family drive when he saw him Tuesday morning. "They are just very dependable," Melissa's aunt told KIRO prior to the family's discovery. "That's why we are terrified that something's happened." The McAlisters were spotted Thursday by a hunter, who called 911. Jason says the family was driving along a logging road Tuesday when they tried to go around a fallen tree and got stuck. They slept in the car Tuesday night then tried to walk to safety on Wednesday but got lost and returned to the car for the night, listening to news of search efforts on the radio while eating Halloween candy. The hunter saw them as they tried again to walk to safety on Thursday, called 911, and drove them to meet authorities at a general store. A sheriff says the family "appears to be OK" and is in "good health" despite dehydration and mild hypothermia.