Search and rescue efforts under way for missing Seattle firefighter

Seattle firefighter Josh Milton was reported missing Thursday. (SFD)

Police were searching Sunday for a Seattle firefighter who vanished Thursday and whose car was found two days later.

Fellow firefighters reported Josh Milton missing after he failed to show up for his shift as a paramedic student at Harborview Medical Center Thursday evening. He was last seen near the hospital two hours earlier.

The search moved 80 miles north of Seattle to Deception Pass, a picturesque park 80 miles north of Seattle, where Milton’s 2000 white Honda Accord was found by park workers Saturday morning, Q13 Fox reported.

Park employees called police after they saw the car in a parking lot. There was no sign of the 36-year-old, who has a wife and a 3-year-old son.

The keys were still inside the vehicle, KOMO-TV reported.

“We’ve covered most of the park, but the biggest concern is the water, and that’s fast-moving water through there,” park manager Jack Hartt told the station. “It’s very difficult to find anybody if they are in the water.”

KOMO reported that Milton was tracked to a Target store in between Seattle and Deception Pass Friday through phone records, social media and bank statements.

A Target manager told the station Milton was seen on store surveillance video around 11 a.m. Friday. Investigators said he bought a phone charger and baby wipes. He left after sitting in his car for about 10 minutes, the station reported.

“We have a team working around the clock at (Seattle) PD, working closely with Bothell (Police),” Assistant Seattle Police Chief Robert Merner said.

Q13 reported that as part of the search detectives tried to contact Milton by phone by have been unsuccessful.

Milton joined the Seattle Fire Department in 2012 and recently joined the paramedic program, the station reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.