On September 7, 2024, an 82 year old bow hunter did not return to a predetermined location with his hunting party after pursuing a bull elk west of the Jones Creek Equestrian Staging Area in the Tillamook State Forest. The man is a diabetic and his hunting party was very concerned for his welfare. They contacted TIllamook 911 at about 9PM to report the missing hunter. After initial information was received, TIllamook County SAR was activated. Searching commenced throughout the night and into the following morning. Additional resources and searchers were mobilized for further searching of the area. 13 SAR volunteers and 6 Deputies, and ODF employees responded and searched. Thanks to their efforts, the missing hunter was located before noon on September 8th.
“This was a successful mission thanks to our dedicated TIllamook County search and rescue volunteers, TIllamook County Emergency Dispatchers, Oregon Department of Forestry employees, and TIllamook County Sheriff’s Office Deputies,” said TCSO SAR Coordinator Deputy Chris Barnett. “All of those people searched throughout the night and into the following day, with minimal or no sleep.” The hunter had an emergency location device but was not familiar with its operation - essentially making the device useless. Please understand the operating procedures of these life saving devices.
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