Released by: Deputy Shane Zook, Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator
Date: July 4th, 2021
Location: Smith Rock State Park
Persons Assisted: Zsolt Mar – 35 year old male, Bend, Or.
On 07-04-21 at about 11:32 AM, a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Special Services Deputy was dispatched to an injured hiker at the Smith Rock State Park. The hiker was unable to walk back to the parking lot on his own and required the assistance of Search and Rescue.
Thirteen Search and Rescue volunteers and two Special Services Deputies assisted in the rescue.
The injured hiker was located on the back side of the park, near Monkey Face. The Redmond Fire Department responded to the call with their raft, which was used to ferry rescuers across the crooked river, allowing Search and Rescue volunteers to reach the patient much quicker.
Volunteers reached the hiker, assessed his medical condition, and then loaded him into a wheeled litter. The hiker was carried in the wheeled litter down to the river, where he was ferried across the river in the Redmond Fire Department’s raft. The hiker chose to seek further medical treatment on his own and refused transport via ambulance.
All Search and Rescue volunteers were secured by 3:00PM.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with six K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves over 200,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 259 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 191 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.
