Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan reports that on Sunday, September 1, dispatch was made aware of an injured backpacker at Duffy Lake.
The patient was a 16-year-old male from Portland who sustained a broken leg. The patient’s mother sent a nearby backpacker to hike out and call 911. The good Samaritan made it to Maxwell Butte Sno-Park and contacted Linn County Dispatch at 4:00 PM. Linn County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (SAR) immediately began to mobilize a ground team. The Search and Rescue team worked with the Oregon Office of Emergency Management to coordinate support from the National Guard for a helicopter.
The National Guard accepted the mission, but due to thunderstorms near Duffy Lake, they had to wait an hour for the weather to clear. In the meantime, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office sent a hasty team of ground SAR members, as well as medically trained SAR-EMTs, and a SAR-Paramedic. They arrived at the trail to Duffy Lake and began their hike to the patient at 5:55 PM.
Additional SAR members arrived and hiked in at 6:30 PM, contacting the patient and prepared the patient for transport by the National Guard. The National Guard successfully operated a hoist rescue and, at 7:52 PM, transported the patient to St. Charles Hospital in Bend.
All SAR members made it back to the Duffy Lake Trailhead at 12 AM on Monday, September 2.
Sheriff Duncan would like to thank the SAR volunteers and the National Guard for their support. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office SAR is primarily comprised of volunteers, and with their support, these rescues are possible.