Bend motorcyclist killed in Wheeler County crash

A 64-year-old Bend man reported overdue on a motorcycle ride from Bend to Baker City was killed in a crash off Highway 26 in Wheeler County, Oregon State Police reported.

Grant County 911 dispatchers and OSP received a report around 10 p.m. Thursday of an overdue, missing motorcyclist, identified as Michael C. Denmark, 64, of Bend said OSP Sgt. Tom Hutchinson.

Police began checking the area along the highway but were unsuccessful in finding Denmark Thursday night, Hutchinson said.

Around 9 a.m. Friday, an OSP trooper on patrol found the wreckage and the deceased motorcyclist near milepost 93, about 30 miles east of Mitchell in Wheeler County.

Preliminary information indicates Denmark was heading east on a 2007 Yamaha motorcycle when it left the roadway, for unknown reasons, Hutchinson said.

The motorcycle traveled a short distance on the road’s gravel shoulder before dropping off a steep embankment and coming to rest at the bottom.

The area where he was found is not easily seen by passing motorists, the sergeant said, adding that evidence of the crash at the highway was minimal.

OSP was assisted at the scene by ODOT.