Coast Guard helicopter rescue crews are currently conducting overflights of flood affected areas to assess damage and look for stranded citizens.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Anderson.
NORTH BEND, Oregon.— A Coast Guard Sector North Bend MH-65 Dolphin Short-Range Recovery Helicopter aircrew assisted the Lane County Sheriff’s Department in locating and rescue two 19-year-old hikers males reported missing after hiking near Swastika Mountain about 32 miles east southeast of Eugene, Oregon, Saturday..
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector North Bend command center received an agency assistance request from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management that two individuals went camping on the mountain on or around Christmas Day and did not return from their trip on Wednesday, Dec. 29. Lane County sheriffs dispatched ground parties to search after receiving a report that two hikers went missing on New Year’s Eve.
Due to recent heavy snowfall in the area covering the mountain roads, Lane County requested Coast Guard rescue helicopter support in locating the individuals.
The Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin SRR aircrew rescue the two missing hikers and transferred them to awaiting Lane County sheriffs at Eugene Airport. During the search for the two men, the aircrew identified two additional persons in distress and passed their position to Lane County, who believed they were within range of their land party.
The two hikers reported no medical concerns.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Bend video by Chief Petty Officer William Colclough.
Department of Homeland Security
The two hikers reported no medical concerns.
«These young men did a lot of things right to give themselves the best chance of being rescued,» said Lt. Maggie Champin, MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter commander, Sector North Bend. «By writing ‘SOS’ in the snow, staying near their vehicle and staying near logging roads, we were able to find them relatively quickly. We recommend hikers carry personal locator beacons while out in the back country.”
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