Released by: Deputy Shane Zook, Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator
Date: June 18, 2021
Location: Yapoah Lake
Persons Assisted: Autum Keller, 30 year old female, Yamhill, OR and Tasmin Strode 31 year old male, Yamhill, OR
On 06-18-21 at about 8:30 PM, Deschutes County Dispatch received a call of two lost hikers near Yapoah Lake, which is a small wilderness lake about 11 miles south west of the city of Sisters.
The subjects were lost and their phone was nearly dead. Dispatch was able to get the coordinates of their phone, which were provided to a special services deputy. The deputy contacted the subjects and advised them to stay at their current location. The deputy paged out Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue volunteers to assist the lost hikers. Six volunteers responded and were deployed to hikers location.
Because of the remote location and the fact that the hikers had wandered a good distance from the nearest trail, search and rescue volunteers did not reach the subjects until 12:40 AM. The subjects were in good health and were able to hike back with volunteers to the trailhead where their vehicle was parked.
Search and rescue volunteers were all secured by 3:30 AM.
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.
