Driver’s fall during cell signal search prompts rescue

A tire came off a vehicle on Highway 26 east of Prineville Sunday afternoon, prompting the driver to go try to find a better cell signal. But he fell in a ravine and was injured, prompting a rescue effort in a steep canyon, Crook County sheriff’s deputies said.

The sheriff’s office was contacted around 3:30 p.m. by a former family member who said Dale Rhode, 58, and family members were driving on Highway 26 East near milepost 32, about 11 miles east of Prineville, when a tire on their vehicle came off, said sheriff’s office Emergency Manager Michael Ryan

Family members hitchhiked to town for help, while Rhode went looking for a better cell signal.

Deputies began searching the area Rhode last was seen in, joined by Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Crook County Fire and Rescue, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement and USFS fire crews, Ryan said.

Rhode was found about 3/4 of a mile from the highway, in a ravine in a steep canyon. He had injured his leg when he fell from a trail into the ravine, Ryan said.

Amid temperatures that reached 102 degrees in the canyon, Rhode was treated by deputies, then fire medics, and crews on scene helped remove him from the area, first on a backboard and then by wheeled litter. Ryan said he was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Prineville shortly before 8 p.m.

Ryan said the sheriff’s office wants to remind everyone to leave detailed plans with someone when venturing out into the wilderness, and then try to stick to the plan.

“It’s always a good idea to have some basic supplies like food, water and warm clothing in your vehicle if you do become stuck or stranded, ” Ryan said in a news release.

The sheriff’s office has for the public free small pamphlets with an “outing plan” that can be filled out with important information and left with family members. They also have a recommended list of items to keep on hand, as well as survival tips.