Missing Sisters-area man, 86, found at Government Camp

(Update: Motorist who saw alert on KTVZ Facebook page finds missing man)

An 86-year-old Sisters-area man who was reported missing Thursday, prompting a public alert by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, was found at a Government Camp gas station by a motorist who had seen the report on NewsChannel 21’s Facebook page, deputies said.

Deputies had asked the public for help in finding Elwin “Gale” Larson, last seen around 11:45 a.m. at his home in the 16000 block of Cattle Drive Road, northeast of Sisters, Sgt. William Bailey said.

Larson was believed to be driving his a tan 2008 Toyota Tacoma with a metal frame “lumber rack” on the truck’s bed.

Bailey had said investigators learned Larson did not have a phone with him, suffers from memory loss and has difficulty hearing and walking, so he might be sitting in or near his pickup. They said he was familiar with areas of Three Creeks Lake, Squaw Creek Canyon and Tollgate.

A motorist who stopped at a Government Camp gas station by Mount Hood — some 100 miles and two hours from Sisters — said she had seen the recent KTVZ alert on Facebook, Bailey said.

“As the motorist walked into the station, she saw Larson and immediately thought she recognized him from the alert,” the sergeant said in a news release. “After checking the phone to confirm it was him, she notified law enforcement.”

Bailey said word of Larson being located came around 6:30 p.m. He said Larson’s family was on their way to Government Camp to be reunited with him.

The sergeant thanked Oregon State Police for their assistance and also gave “a special thank you to the observant motorist that found Larson and immediately reported it to law enforcement.”