Crews Locate Missing Hikers on Larch Mountain

Two Six-Year Old Kids Among those who were found, nobody was hurt and rescuers say they were prepared for the elements.

Larch Mountain Photo courtesy: lcc.ctc.edu/

(CORBETT, Ore.) - A cell phone call from four lost hikers to a friend sent rescue crews scrambling into action Wednesday. They said they were lost in the Larch Mountain wilderness, and indicated to the friend that they had disoriented and were unable to find their way out.

Rescuers say the people had set out earlier that day to pick mushrooms and were familiar with the area south of Larch Mountain Road at MP 8.

On their way back to the car, however, they got turned around and became lost several miles from their starting point. The party, consisting of two adult females, one six year old male and one six year old female found a clearing and stayed put in order to help searchers find them.

The friend notified the Multnomah county Sheriff's Office who immediately began the process of conducting a search. The MCSO search and rescue supervisor deployed two MCSO K9 units to begin the search process while mobilizing the MCSO Search and Rescue Team.

K9 "Varro" and his handler Dep. Todd Weber began a search from the hiker's car and tracked in a southwest direction. K9 "Rieker" and his handler Dep. Rafael Cortada began tracking from a logging road approximately 2 miles west of the location in an area that the party may come out.

While the K9 units tracked, other MCSO personnel assigned to the incident kept cell phone contact with the party checking in every 30 minutes.

Without any established trails, and the fact that the party stated they had been zigzagging for several miles, the search parameter was difficult at best.

Once "Varro" started picking up a scent at about 4:15 PM, however, searches became hopeful. A few miles later Deputy Weber began hearing yells for help and soon thereafter located the party. They were all in good health and were well prepared for the elements including extra clothing, food and water.

Now having the location down, Weber was able to lead the party to a logging road and they were transported back to their car by MCSO SAR.

This is another great example of the effective use of Police K9 units in tracking lost or missing people in addition to suspects.