A trip to bring food to a family turned into a mystery that has now stretched well beyond a week, and authorities on both sides of the Columbia River are asking the public to help find a missing man who seemingly disappeared along the way.
The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office in Washington and the St. Helens Police Department in Oregon are searching for Brent Erickson, who has not been seen or heard from since August 7, 2026.
According to investigators, Erickson was traveling to deliver food to a family near the Kalama River area in southwest Washington. He never made it to the home.
Since then, there has apparently been no confirmed contact with him.
The circumstances have prompted authorities to ask people who live, work, recreate, or own property along Kalama River Road and Italian Creek to keep an especially close eye out.
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Erickson is believed to have been driving a gray or silver 2003 Ford F-150 with Oregon license plate 471DQQ.
That truck may now be one of the most important clues in the search.
Officials are specifically asking property owners to check places that might not be easily visible from the roadway, including private land, outbuildings, driveways, and roadside pull-offs.
The Kalama River corridor quickly leaves the more populated Interstate 5 area behind and heads into the heavily wooded country east of Kalama. It is the kind of landscape familiar to anyone who has spent much time exploring southwest Washington or northwest Oregon, with winding roads, forest, scattered homes, recreation areas, and long stretches where a vehicle could potentially be difficult to spot from the main road.
That makes help from people who know the area particularly valuable.
Someone checking a rarely used portion of their property, an access road, a barn, or a turnout could potentially notice something that has gone unseen during the search.
The involvement of St. Helens police also gives the case a strong Oregon connection. Kalama sits just across the Columbia River from northwest Oregon, and Erickson’s pickup carries Oregon plates, making the search relevant to residents on both sides of the state line.
Authorities have not released additional details explaining what may have happened after Erickson began his trip.
For now, the public is being asked to focus on something very specific: look for the pickup.
Anyone who has traveled along Kalama River Road or the Italian Creek area since August 7 may also want to think back to anything unusual they noticed along the way, particularly a gray or silver older-model Ford pickup parked somewhere unexpected.
People with property in the area are encouraged to take another look around places that are easy to overlook from the road.
Erickson’s disappearance has now gone on long enough that even a seemingly minor observation could prove useful.
Anyone with information about Brent Erickson’s whereabouts, or anyone who believes they may have seen his 2003 Ford F-150, should contact law enforcement.
The truck has Oregon license plate 471DQQ.
For families waiting for answers in missing-person cases, a single tip can sometimes make all the difference. Authorities are hoping someone traveling through this quiet stretch of southwest Washington has seen something that can help bring the search closer to an answer.
