Body of missing Cowlitz County woman found in Rose Valley
The body of a Cowlitz County woman missing for over a year has been recovered, according to Cowlitz County law enforcement and social media posts from friends, family and missing person advocacy groups.
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Coroner Dana Tucker reports the body of 33-year-old Hailey Athay was discovered on Sunday by two young men in a wooded area in Rose Valley.
The two Cowlitz County residents found clothing and bones on a hike on Weyerhauser property near Rose Valley Road and Weyerhauser's 1600 line, according to a Wednesday Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office notice. Authorities are not releasing the exact location due to the ongoing investigation.
The next day, the sheriff's office and search-and-rescue teams found nearly all of the remains, more clothes and personal belongings. Prior searches in this same area produced no results, the sheriff's office reports.
On Tuesday, the body was identified as Athay, Tucker writes in her Wednesday notice.
The cause and manner of death have not yet been determined.
Athay's mother, Nicole Brooks, told The Daily News a vigil will be held for her daughter on Friday, with details of the exact time and location to come.
A GoFundMe crowd-surfacing campaign, originally collecting money to find her, will now be used to cover the burial, according to the family.
A Facebook group dedicated to Athay's search reported Tuesday that she had "returned home," and the group now seeks "answers and accountability for those involved with her passing."
The search
Athay was last seen at a South Kelso store and the Lexington Chevron around Thanksgiving 2024.
Hailey E. Athay
Hailey Athay, 33. The Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office opened an investigation into her whereabouts in January 2025.
The Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office launched a missing-person investigation in January 2025 into her whereabouts.
People have told her mother Athay was going mushroom hunting with a friend in the Rose Valley area before she disappeared, Brooks previously told The Daily News.
Friends and family held searches in Rose Valley and Toutle to look for Athay.
Cowlitz County Undersheriff Troy Brightbill told The Daily News in March 2025 that investigators had interviewed all individuals of interest in the case. The office does not release the names of persons of interest unless those people are charged with a crime.
Athay was born in Yakima but attended Longview schools, including Monticello Middle School and R.A. Long High School.
Editor's note: The Daily News reporter Matt Esnayra contributed to this article.
This story has also been updated to include the latest information.
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