Lost hiker rescued in Three Sisters Wilderness

A North Bend man who took a short hike off-trail without his pack became disoriented Tuesday in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area, prompting a two-county search and rescue effort on foot and horseback that ended well after dark, authorities said.

Erik Larsen, 28, called 911 dispatchers around noon requesting assistance, saying he became disoriented and was becoming cold and wet in an area east of Obsidian Falls, said John Miller, Lane County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue coordinator.

Three Deschutes County Sheriff’s SAR mounted posse and seven volunteers on foot assisted Lane County’s six mountain rescue volunteers, finding Larsen by using his cellphone, Miller said. A command post had been set up at the Dee Wright Observatory on Highway 126 near McKenzie Pass.

It took until about 9:30 p.m., for the last SAR units to leave the area, heading back to Eugene and Bend.

Miller said the successful search and rescue served as a good reminder that “it is important to carry the right survival equipment with you and not leave it.”

“This is especially true during seasonal changes, when weather may be unpredictable,” he said in a news release.