Lost teen rescued in Three Sisters Wilderness Area

A 16-year-old who became lost Monday on an Outward Bound camping trip in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area was spotted waving at an Oregon State Police search plane overhead and rescued Tuesday morning, tired and hungry but otherwise OK, authorities said.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call shortly after 8 p.m. from an employee with Northwest Outward Bound School, reporting a 16-year-old male in their program was missing during a camping trip with the organization at Yapoah Lake, said Lt. Bryan Husband, Sheriff’s Search and Rescue coordinator.

The teen had last been seen around noon, Husband said, and it wasn’t known at the time whether he had run away or become lost. Husband said the teen, who later told rescuers he got lost, reportedly left camp with food and water, but with minimal clothing.

A sheriff’s deputy and two SAR volunteers began working on search plans, while three other deputies went to the closest trailheads, Scott’s Pass and Millican Crater, both off Forest Service Road 1018, Husband said. He wasn’t located at either trailhead or on nearby forest roads.

Outward Bound workers who had been searching for the teen for several hours said later they found a note he’d left in the dirt at a nearby trail junction, Husband said. They followed what they believed to be his shoe prints to the Scott’s Pass/Pacific Crest Trail junction, where they lost them in the snow.

Sheriff’s patrol deputies continued to check the area for the juvenile through the night, the lieutenant said.

Around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, two DCSO SAR Horse Team volunteers were deployed to search the Pacific Crest Trail, from Lava Camp Lake south to the Scott’s Pass junction, Husband said.

OSP also was contacted and assisted with a search from their fixed-wing plane. A sheriff’s SAR air operations volunteer joined the OSP pilot to assist as a spotter.

Meanwhile, two dozen SAR ground searchers responded to assist and search various trails in the area, Husband said.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue unit was contacted and assisted by sending searchers to the nearby Pacific Crest Trail area in their county. In addition, the Civil Air Patrol was notified and prepared to assist with a further aerial search, if needed.

Around 9:30 a.m., the OSP plane crew reported spotting someone matching the teen’s description, waving and signaling to them, Husband said. His location, about three miles by trail from Yapoah Lake, was relayed to the SAR horse team, which reached him about an hour later.

Besides being tired and hungry, the juvenile was in good condition and did not require medical treatment, according to Husband, who said the teen likely walked about eight miles since becoming lost. Husband said the horse team walked the teen out to the Millican Crater trailhead, where he was reunited with Outward Bound employees.