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UPDATE, May 2 at 9:30 p.m.:

Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (MCSOSAR) located the stranded hiker around 4 p.m., Monday, May 2. The hiker, a 51-year-old man, was suffering effects of mild hypothermia, but was able to communicate and walk with rescue crews. The hiker was found near Munra Point; the trail to Munra Point is not an official trail and is not maintained. SAR members reported the trail to be in extremely poor shape, steep, slippery, dangerous and very difficult to follow.

SAR members carefully walked with the hiker down to I-84, where an ambulance was waiting. The 51-year-old was evaluated and was in good condition. He declined being transported to the hospital. 

The hiker told deputies he left Sunday to go for a hike. He was not familiar with the trail. He reported that after a few hours, he lost sight of the trail and became disoriented. He began working his way down the hillside until he could not go any further due to sheer cliffs. The hiker said he was only wearing flip-flop sandals, which came off during his descent. The hiker said his cell phone battery also died. He told deputies he decided to light a small warming fire and shelter in place for the night. In the morning, the fire's smoke caught the attention of a worker at the Bonneville Dam, who reported the sighting to another employee. That employee is also a member of the Hood River Crag Rats. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office was subsequently notified.

We want to thank the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team, the Hood River Crag Rats, Gresham Police Department, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their assistance during Monday’s search and rescue mission.

This operation was the second search and rescue mission in the Columbia River Gorge during a 24-hour period. 

On Sunday, May 1, around 4:30 p.m., MCSOSAR responded to Larch Mountain, east of Corbett. A 25-year-old hiker used a personal locator beacon (PLB) to notify first responders he was not prepared for deep snow and needed rescue. Around 9 p.m., SAR members reached the hiker, who was in good condition, and helped him back to the staging location.

Despite spring-like weather, many trails above 3,000 feet in elevation are still snow-covered and have not been cleared or maintained since last fall. Before you leave home, it is suggested that you always carry a first aid kit in your car and bring the Ten Essentials with you on the trail, even if you are only going out for the day.

Ten Essentials for hiking:

• Navigation: map, compass, altimeter, GPS device, personal locator beacon (PLB) or satellite messenger
• Headlamp or flashlight: plus, extra batteries
• Sun protection: sunglasses, sun-protective clothes and sunscreen
• First aid: including foot care and insect repellent (as needed)
• Knife: plus, a gear repair kit
• Fire: matches, lighter, tinder and/or stove
• Shelter: carried at all times, (can be a light emergency bivvy)
• Extra food: Beyond the minimum expectation
• Extra water: Beyond the minimum expectation
• Extra clothes: Beyond the minimum expectation

In both SAR missions, not wearing appropriate clothing or footwear were factors in necessitating rescue. Please be prepared to encounter all conditions in the outdoors.

The trail photo must be credited to Aine Gillen, MCSOSAR. All other photos can be credited to MCSO.

This is the final news release for these incidents.

INITIAL NEWS RELEASE on May 2 at 2:45 p.m.:

A search and rescue operation is underway near Munra Point in the Columbia River Gorge.

At 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 2, dispatchers received a call from a person located at the Bonneville Dam who spotted smoke from a signal fire near the top of a steep, rocky cliffside. The caller said they had access to a scope saw what appeared to be a hiker in distress.

Multnomah County sheriffs’ deputies responded to the location to verify the report. Using binoculars, deputies confirmed the sighting and activated the Multnomah County Search and Rescue (MCSOSAR) members. Because of the precarious location of the hiker, the Sheriff’s Office also dispatched the Hood River Crag Rats, a highly-skilled mountain rescue team.

Around 1 p.m., two hasty teams with members from MCSOSAR and Crag Rats left the trailhead to attempt to contact the stranded hiker and determine the safest rescue option. Deputies have not been able to contact the person nor identify the individual. It’s also not clear how the hiker accessed the area or how long they have been in distress.

Munra Point is an exposed rocky viewpoint located west of Wahclella Falls. The Munra Point trail is not maintained and climbs approximately 2,000 vertical feet in two miles.

Currently, the area is experiencing moderate rain and temperatures in the upper forties.

The media staging area is in the Tanner Creek Fishway parking lot at the Bonneville Dam campus. A PIO is on scene.

For updates, follow the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office on social media @MultCoSO.

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