Daughter of Piano Guys musican missing in Portland after weekend hiking trip

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Jon Schmidt, a member of popular Utah group The Piano Guys, is making a plea to help find his daughter, missing since Sunday.

Over the weekend, Anna “Annie” Schmidt, 21, set out to go hiking in the “tooth rock” area of Portland, Ore. and hasn’t been seen since. She was reported missing by her roommate on Wednesday, and her car was found Thursday in the Columbia River Gorge area, according to the Port Police Bureau.

Police do not suspect foul play, and they and her father worry she may have gotten lost or hurt on the trail.

“I need your help. My daughter, Annie, went missing this week,” Schmidt posted on Facebook Friday morning. “We need everyone’s prayers too.”

Neither Schmidt nor Annie’s roommate have heard from her since she set out Sunday, reports KUTV’s sister station in Portland, KATU. Schmidt, who flew in to Portland to help with the search, said he received a Snapchat from Annie on the trail and hopes that, combined, with any information from other hikers could help find Annie.

“It’s like a needle in a haystack,” he said of the 50-mile search area.

Annie, Schmidt told KATU, “is super adventurous” and, as a Utah native, loves hiking in the Pacific Northwest, where she now lives.

“She loves Portland so much,” he said. “She’s a little Salt Lake girl, and she was in heaven up here.”
She is a hiker, police said in a release, and recently purchased a tent and backpack. Schmidt is 5’4″ and weighs 125 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who knows her whereabouts or who may have been hiking in the Columbia River Gorge over the past few days is asked contact Detective Heidi Helwig at heidi.helwig@portlandoregon.gov.

Crews from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office set out on the trails to continue the search Friday morning.