Two cats lost since deadly motor home crash found

A woman who lost her husband in a fatal motor home crash near Redmond a week ago thought her two beloved cats had run off from the rolling home they all shared for so many miles. Her plea for help to find them brought an outpouring of support — but as it turned out, both cats had burrowed themselves into the RV and both have now been reunited with their grateful owner.

Last weekend, the staff at a Prineville tow yard reported the black and white cat, Orca, turned up in the front seat of the motor home on a day when Kathleen Burke had returned to remove belongings from it. Days later, they also found the tabby cat, Sherman, in the RV. He scampered off, but was caught in a humane trap on Thursday.

Here’s Kathleen Burke’s note, in full:

“Sherman and Orca are back with me. They are already looking beyond everything that happened to us during the past eight days and eagerly looking forward to see what the next adventure holds.

“It’s guaranteed to be unlike any other journey we’ve ever traveled before, because now we are filled to the brim and overflowing with all the kindness, prayers, assistance and compassion of the people of Redmond, Oregon.

“A special gratitude of thanks and kudos goes to Ron at American towing in Prineville on Madras Highway for his extra special expression of love and tenacity. He was the first one who spotted Orca sitting in the drivers seat and he was the first one to inform me that Sherman had been caught in a humane cat trap placed there by several compassionate “cat ladies.”

“While I miss my husband of 35 years terribly it has become so obvious to me that the hand of God was all over me from the first impact of the crash. Every second of my loss and road to healing was orchestrated by a God who called the whole community into action.

“What began just a little over 8 days ago is confirmation that if I had to be in a crash anywhere in the country, the best place possible is without a doubt exactly where it did occcur.

“I know I’ll never be the same, and I hope that everyone in this community knows that there actually is a God out there who hears our prayers and answers them if we do not give up.”

—

Earlier story:

Kathleen Burke was riding with husband Samuel on Highway 97 just north of O’Neil Junction the evening of Oct. 19 when he apparently suffered cardiac arrest and the motor home careened off the highway some 500 feet, crashing through several fences and trees before coming to a stop, according to Oregon State Police.

Samuel Burke died after being taken to St. Charles Redmond along with Kathleen, his wife of 35 years. She was released a few days later.

Kathleen Burke had issued a public plea for area residents to be on the lookout for the two missing cats, a black and white cat named Orca and an orange tabby named Sherman.

Thanks to the employees of American Towing in Prineville, Burke said, Orca was found sitting on the motor home’s passenger seat after she had spent Saturday cleaning out the motor home with friends.

Burke said Sherman could still be around the crash site, just north of Cinder Butte Meats — or he could still have been in the motor home when it got towed to Prineville, at American towing on the Madras Highway.

Burke said she was “thrilled to have Orca back,” and grateful to learn that many who heard what happened had been out looking for her cats.

“It is great when a community gets involved,” she told NewsChannel 21 in an email.

But when she learned property owners by the crash site had expressed concern about gates opened by well-intentioned searchers, Burke added, “I do hope that people stop and respect the property rights of the owners” in the area, one of whom told NewsChannel 21 they, too, had been keeping an eye out for the cats.

Last Friday, from her Redmond hospital room, Burke said, “People say that cats don’t like to travel, but these cats were special. I mean, they would sit up on the dash, and they would put a smile on people’s face, because traditionally, people don’t think that cats like to travel.”

The Burkes were on their annual winter road trip, seeking warmer weather. They often traveled through Arizona and Las Vegas with the cats perched at the front of the RV. The motor home they traveled in was their only home.

Kathleen said the cats adopted them six years ago and had since traveled with them wherever they went.

The black and white cat, Orca, liked to sit on Samuel’s lap as he drove, while the orange tabby, Sherman, enjoyed snuggling in the bed with Kathleen.

Kathleen Burke told NewsChannel 21 that this experience has been a spiritual one. Going forward, she said she knows she wants to help people that are also hurting. And although she doesn’t plan to travel in an RV ever again, she will continue to go on as many adventures as she can.

“I think the worst thing you can do after this is to wallow in self-pity, (and) I’m not going to do that,” Kathleen said.

Troopers and emergency personnel had responded around 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday to the single-vehicle crash on the highway near milepost 118 and just north of O’Neil Junction, said Oregon State Police Capt. Bill Fugate.

A preliminary investigation found that a 36-foot motor home driven by Samuel Burke, 68, of Lincoln City had been heading south on the highway when it crossed the northbound lanes and left the east side of the road, Fugate said.

The motor home traveled more than 500 feet, crashing through several fences and trees before coming to a stop, the captain said.

Burke and his wife, Kathleen, 58, were taken to St. Charles Redmond, where the driver died of his injuries, Fugate said.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, Redmond Police Department, Redmond Fire and Rescue and ODOT.