Russell Ford Ashmun was 22 when he disappeared while in Olympia, Washington. He was last seen on September 22, 1979, and official accounts say he was lost in the Olympic National Forest. He is described as a white male, 6 feet 1 inch, 170 to 225 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

The Salem Police Department holds the primary case file and Thurston County authorities in Washington have also remained involved. His case is still listed in national missing persons databases and has been included in cold case reviews over the years, but no significant public breakthroughs have been reported. Little detail is available about the events immediately before he was reported missing or the search efforts that followed, which has left many unanswered questions.

If anyone had contact with Russell in September 1979, or remembers seeing him in Olympia or the Olympic National Forest, please share what you know.