**Update**
The lost hiker was located by MCSO Search and Rescue teams just before 3:00 am on Friday, 03/24/2017. He was cold and wet, but otherwise in good health and able to walk out with search and rescue teams.
MCSO would like to thank all of the volunteers who assisted in making the rescue happen in challenging conditions in the middle of the night.
The 7:00 am press update at Horsetail Falls is canceled.
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Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, working alongside searchers from Mountain Wave Search and Rescue and Pacific NW Search and Rescue, are looking for a lost hiker who called 911 at 2:30 pm on 03/23/2017 to report he was not able to find his way back to the Horsetail Falls Trailhead, where he had started his hike earlier in the day. Deputies responding to the call were able to get a general location from a cell phone ping, but noted his cell phone had very little battery life when they last spoke with the hiker.
Friends of the lost hiker said he had researched today's hike and provided maps of his intended route. MCSO SAR coordinators indicate the man is 29 years of age and is an experienced hiker, but is not from the Portland area nor familiar with hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. He is uninjured and has food and water with him, along with a backpack.
Members of the MCSO Trailhornets began searching for the lost hiker at approximately 3:00 pm, but were forced to return with nightfall approaching. At approximately 7:30 pm an additional 15 searchers were deployed to search the trails system near Horsetail Falls and the Rock of Ages Trail using headlamps and flashlights to guide their way. More searches are arriving to the command post as of 11:30 pm and will continue to search for the missing hiker throughout the night.
Trail conditions are dangerous in this area, making search efforts difficult. As the darkness set in, heavy rains began to fall, further complicating the mission for searchers. Search teams have experienced washed out trails, downed trees, and creeks overflowing with water making them impassable.
In the event the missing hiker is not located overnight, an update on search efforts will be provided at 7:00 am on Friday 03/24/2017 at the MCSO command post located in the Horsetail Falls Trailhead parking lot.
The lost hiker was located by MCSO Search and Rescue teams just before 3:00 am on Friday, 03/24/2017. He was cold and wet, but otherwise in good health and able to walk out with search and rescue teams.
MCSO would like to thank all of the volunteers who assisted in making the rescue happen in challenging conditions in the middle of the night.
The 7:00 am press update at Horsetail Falls is canceled.
===============================================================================================
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (SAR) teams, working alongside searchers from Mountain Wave Search and Rescue and Pacific NW Search and Rescue, are looking for a lost hiker who called 911 at 2:30 pm on 03/23/2017 to report he was not able to find his way back to the Horsetail Falls Trailhead, where he had started his hike earlier in the day. Deputies responding to the call were able to get a general location from a cell phone ping, but noted his cell phone had very little battery life when they last spoke with the hiker.
Friends of the lost hiker said he had researched today's hike and provided maps of his intended route. MCSO SAR coordinators indicate the man is 29 years of age and is an experienced hiker, but is not from the Portland area nor familiar with hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. He is uninjured and has food and water with him, along with a backpack.
Members of the MCSO Trailhornets began searching for the lost hiker at approximately 3:00 pm, but were forced to return with nightfall approaching. At approximately 7:30 pm an additional 15 searchers were deployed to search the trails system near Horsetail Falls and the Rock of Ages Trail using headlamps and flashlights to guide their way. More searches are arriving to the command post as of 11:30 pm and will continue to search for the missing hiker throughout the night.
Trail conditions are dangerous in this area, making search efforts difficult. As the darkness set in, heavy rains began to fall, further complicating the mission for searchers. Search teams have experienced washed out trails, downed trees, and creeks overflowing with water making them impassable.
In the event the missing hiker is not located overnight, an update on search efforts will be provided at 7:00 am on Friday 03/24/2017 at the MCSO command post located in the Horsetail Falls Trailhead parking lot.
