A 66-year-old man is safe after Clackamas Fire’s 23-person hand crew, Crew 30, conducted a search-and-rescue operation to locate the missing camper this week at the Shellrock Lake trailhead in the Mount Hood National Forest.
At around 11:45 a.m. on Monday, June 27, 2022, the man left his campsite at Shellrock Lake to use the restroom. Once the missing camper’s son noticed his father had not returned and was not answering his shouts, he left the campsite in search of help.
The son approached Crew 30, near Lake Harriet, working in the field at 12:20 p.m. The Crew 30 supervisor and a short squad followed the son up to the Shellrock Lake trailhead and hiked into the campground with basic life support, a backboard and excess water.
The short squad reached their campsite at 1:05 p.m. and began conducting a grid search on the eastern side of the lake, away from the campsite. After being initially unsuccessful in their search, the Crew 30 supervisor had the remainder of the crew en route to the Shellrock Lake campsite to join in the search efforts.
At 1:54 p.m., Crew 30 made contact with Columbia Dispatch to request search and rescue with air support and advanced life support. Once the remaining Crew 30 arrived, they began another grid search along the southwest to the northwest edge of Shellrock Lake.
At 2:08 p.m., a nearby adjoining crew supervisor from Devils Ridge copied communications and was en route from Ripplebrook Campground area to join the search efforts. Crew 30 completed the western grid search at 2:40 p.m.
Shortly after at 2:45 p.m., the Devils Ridge supervisor made contact that the missing camper had been located on the edge of Forest Road 5830, about three miles southeast of the Shellrock Lake Trailhead, and was in good health.