Released by: Deputy Shane Zook, Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator
Released Date: 10/11/2022
Location: Tumalo Falls
Person Assisted: 55 year old male, Bend, Oregon
On 10-10-22 at about 8:59 PM, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a call of an overdue hiker. The reporting person used a find my phone application to determine that the missing subject parked his vehicle at the Tumalo Falls Trailhead.
Deputies responded to the area and checked some trails around Tumalo Falls. A deputy in the Special Services division was contacted and advised of the situation. The Special Services Deputy paged out Search and Rescue volunteers to respond and search for the missing male.
Searchers checked multiple trails on foot throughout the night and into the following day. Searchers were showing other hikers in the area a picture of the missing male and asking people to call if they saw the male. At about 11:10 AM, another hiker in the area called to report that they had located the male walking down a trail towards Tumalo Falls Parking area. Searchers responded to the area and contacted the missing hiker, who confirmed that he had lost his way as it got dark, so he sheltered in place over night and then began walking out the following morning. The male was escorted back to his vehicle in the parking lot.
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 five 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.
