Search underway for missing Redmond man in Wheeler County
(Update: Man missing in Ochocos found; Peplin still missing)
Two unrelated missing-person searches took place Thursday in Wheeler County, one for a 22-year-old Redmond man and another, successful effort to find a 71-year-old man with dementia last seen in the Ochoco Mountains.
Sheriff’s deputies said Josh Peplin, 22, was reported last seen Wednesday afternoon on Highway 207 near milepost 4, near Mitchell.
The sheriff’s office said Peplin had no associated vehicle or direction of travel and might have gotten a ride from someone. They said he suffers from narcolepsy, for which he takes Adderal.
Peplin’s mother said he was last seen around 4:30 p.m. by a co-worker, after work near Mitchell. She said he likes the outdoors but does not believe this was pre-planned, as his outdoor gear is still at home.
Peplin is 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds, clean shaven, with brown hair and blue eyes. He last was seen wearing a white Nike shirt, red basketball shorts with black stripes on the side, a baseball cap, black shoes and sunglasses.
Meanwhile, a Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team helped in the successful search in the Ochocos for Kenneth Matthews, 71. A follow-up note from officials shortly before 9 p.m. said Matthews had been found, but offered no details.
Anyone with information about Peplin was asked to contact the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office at 541-763-4101 or Frontier Regional 911 dispatch at 541-384-2080.
