‘I’m so grateful’: Family, friends thankful after missing Bend man found in 10- to 12-foot-deep dry well at storage facility

(Update: Police clarify 10- to 12-foot depth of dry well)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- NewsChannel 21 learned more Thursday about the rescue of a Bend man from a six-foot dry well. John Michael McLerran, 34, had told his roommates he was going to get coffee on Christmas Day. But he left his wallet and ID behind -- and never returned home. 

"At that point, a lot of us were like, 'We want to find him, but we need to face the fact we may not find him,'" McLerran's sister, Stacia McLerran, told us Thursday.

His friend, Joella Nicole, said, "When he was missing, even for six hours, I just knew something was wrong. He was very consistent, and very much involved in people's lives."

McLerran's family and friends reached out to hospitals and police, and made a missing person poster on the day after his disappearance. 

Stacia said, "John has always had -- he's one of those people, like if you're his friend, you're his friend for life. And he's had like an amazing amount of people showing up, saying, 'He was important to me and I want to help.'"

About 48 hours after he was last seen,  about 30 friends and family organized a search party. 

Stacia said, "We had people come from all over the state, and even one person flew out from the other side of the country. So the response was really amazing."

On Wednesday afternoon, the owner of Norton Street Storage called 911. Shortly, after Bend Police and Bend Fire rescued McLerran from a 10- to 12-foot-deep dry well,  an underground structure for water runoff.

The well is in the parking lot of the storage business where McLerran had rented a unit.

Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller provided some more details Thursday.

Initial news reports said McLerran was found in a six-foot-deep dry well, prompting many questions. Miller's news release Wednesday stated he was found "stuck about six feet below street level in a dry well," but she confirmed Thursday the dry well was 10 to 12 feet deep.

"Officers reviewed that footage and determined that Mr. McLerran -- it appears that he entered the hole on his own, and he didn't fall into it," she said. "He chose to get into it. So that's -- there was no one else around. And that's what our investigation has determined."

This year, Bend Police have taken more than 200 calls about missing persons. There are certain factors, like mental stability, used to determine if a person is considered at risk.

Nicole said, "Finding out he was found was amazing. I'm so grateful."

 McLerran is at St. Charles Bend, where he's being evaluated.  His sister says despite having been out in the cold for two days, he is in good shape.