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This investigation is still very active and remains a priority for the Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue teams and communities. On 3/4/25 at 4:30 pm Lincoln County Sheriff Adam Shanks, along with PIO Jess Palma and Sergeant Spano held a press conference to update the community on the search for 2-year old Dane Paulson, who went missing on Saturday March 1st. Palma recognized how difficult this has been on Dane’s family, especially his parents Chamet and Aaron. The pain and tragedy they are facing is unimaginable. She also recognized and thanked the community for their continued support and concern as crews are working diligently to locate Dane.
Despite intense search and rescue efforts in the surrounding area and waterways as well as investigations following up on community tips, Dane has not yet been located. The teams, Search and Rescue, Mounted Posse, and partnering agencies, as well as community volunteers have thoroughly searched the local area. The search has utilized every tool we’ve been able to employ including, but not limited to additional personnel and volunteers, drones, K9s, thermal imaging, night-vision, watercraft, divers, and more. These tools have enabled us to cover more ground in a shorter timeframe and have enabled us to better-access hard-to-reach terrain.
Sheriff Shanks recognized and thanked the community for their continued support and concern as they work to locate Dane. Over 200 community members throughout the county, across the state, and even surrounding states, have responded to help by reporting to the volunteer staging area. This effectively helped cover the local area faster than would have otherwise been possible. The communities also have helped by sharing official updates from the Sheriff's Office page, which helped keep others informed and on the lookout.
In addition to community members, highly trained personnel, search k9s, and specialized equipment have thoroughly covered the local area. This includes ground, water, and air searches. According to Sargeant Spano based on the information from search efforts and following up on tips, they are now concentrating on a very focused area. So far the evidence available indicates Dane was at the river’s edge before his disappearance. Because of this, the search crews will be focusing the majority of the ongoing resources on searching the Siletz river.
Sargeat Spano added they are using drones, divers, watercraft, K9s, and even a sign cutter to thoroughly cover the area. A sign cutter is a highly trained individual on tracking technique that involves finding and following signs left behind by people or animals. The terrain in the overall search area includes surrounding property, forested, rough terrain, the Siletz river and river banks. Due to a thorough search and comprehension of these areas, search operations will now be focusing on a more concentrated area, highlighting the Siletz river.
Although the land within the search area has been thoroughly combed, Sargeant Spano said they cannot 100% guarantee the areas are clear. With thick, rough, forest terrain, it is possible to miss locating a person, especially a small child, hidden by thick brush or other visual impairments even with specialized equipment and search k9s.. Official watercraft and divers are concentrating on thoroughly searching the river.
Updated Data
682 acres and 341walking miles
Divers have searched more than 2 river miles
88 Certified Search and Rescue Members
4 Watercraft
13 Divers
4 Drones
6 Human Trailing K9s
40 Investigators
More than 140 Community Volunteers
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