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Update:
Released by: Sgt. Nathan Garibay
On 07/02/16, combined resources from the Linn County Sheriff's Office, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, and Oregon Army National Guard continued searching the area of Mt. Washington for Brian Robak.
This afternoon, during an air search of the mountain utilizing an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter, searchers located Robak's body. It appears Robak fell a significant distance from near the top of Mt. Washington.
Our thoughts are with Brian's family and friends and we are saddened by this tragic outcome. The responding agencies would like to thank the Big Lake Youth Camp for their assistance in this search.
There will be no further information released at this time.
Original Release:
Missing Hiker: Brian Robak, 28 yom, Hillsboro, OR
On 07/01/16, at about 3:32am, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office received a call from the Big Lake Youth Camp, reporting one of their contractors was overdue from hiking up nearby Mt. Washington. Brian Robak had left his vehicle at the camp and began his hike by himself at about 12:00pm. At about 4:30pm, Robak took photos from the summit of Mt. Washington, sending them to some of his family and friends. Robak was due back at the camp at 8:00pm, but did not arrive. Staff members from the camp hiked up a portion of the trail in an attempt to locate Robak, but were unsuccessful. Numerous attempts were made to contact Robak via his cell phone without success. Searchers attempted to obtain further location information from Robak's cell phone, without success.
25 Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Volunteers and three Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Deputies responded to search for Robak. DCSO SAR Mountain Rescue Unit volunteers searched the higher elevations of Mt. Washington, including the summit, while additional DCSO SAR Volunteers searched Big Lake and nearby trails. Numerous campers in the area were contacted, but no one had seen Robak. Lifeflight and AirLink both assisted with aerial searches using their helicopters. DCSO SAR Volunteers accompanied Airlink crew, assisting as observers. A Linn County Sheriff's Office Deputy also assisted as the Deschutes County/Linn County border bisect Mt. Washington.
DCSO SAR Volunteers searched in the Mt. Washington area up until 8:30pm, at which time the search was temporarily suspended overnight. DCSO SAR and Linn County Sheriff's Office SAR will be continuing the search on 07/02/16, in the early morning hours.