Two US men found dead while searching for Bigfoot

Two US men were found dead in a remote forest while searching for Sasquatch, also commonly known as Bigfoot, according to authorities in Washington State.

The two men from Portland, Oregon, were found dead following a three-day search was launched on Christmas Day after a family member reported that the pair had not returned from a trip to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to search for proof of the mythical hairy, forest-dwelling, bi-pedal primates.

The "gruelling" search involved over 60 volunteers searching with aircraft and dogs in heavily wooded terrain and brutally-cold weather conditions, the Skamania County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

"Both deaths appear to be due to exposure, based on weather conditions and ill-preparedness," the statement said.

The sheriff's office found a car belonging to the victims near the town of Willard, the statement said, and the search re-focused to that area. Drones were also used, and a Coast Guard helicopter team was called in to help with the search.

Officials have not provided the names of the two victims, aged 37 and 59.

Weather conditions in the Cascade mountains had been frigid in the days before and during the search, which included snow, freezing rain and temperatures falling below freezing.

Rescuers also had to battle high water levels in rivers and fallen trees.

Hundreds of sightings of Sasquatch have been reported in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and western Canada. Alongside the Loch Ness Monster, the creature is one of the world's most famous cryptids.

There have been so many alleged sightings that some communities have taken humorous measures to protect the hairy mythic creature. In Skamania County, where the pair went missing, a person could get a year in jail or a $1,000 fine if one of the folklore creatures are harmed.–BBC