Missing Bend man, subject of extensive search, found 2 days later, rescued from 6-foot-deep dry well

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 34-year-old Bend man who left home to get coffee on Christmas Day and never returned, prompting an extensive search by worried friends and family, was found in good condition and rescued two days later from a 6-foot-deep dry well at a gated storage-unit business, police said.

Bend Police officers had responded to a welfare check around 5:30 p.m. Monday for John Michael McLerran, who walked away from his home in the 800 block of NE Norton Avenue to get a coffee and never returned, police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said. She noted that he did not take his wallet or identification with him.

Shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday, a community member called Deschutes County 911 to report that he’d found McLerran stuck six feet below street level in a dry well in the parking lot of Norton Street Storage, in the 300 block of Norton Street, Miller said.

Police and Bend Fire & Rescue responded to the scene and were able to remove McLerran from the dry well. He was taken found in good condition, Miller said, but was taken to St. Charles Bend for evaluation.

A family member said in a Reddit post Wednesday that a Bend resident saw the missing flyer online, reviewed security footage and saw McLerran, went to the storage-unit business and heard him yelling for help.

McLerran's sister, Stacia McLerran, said Tuesday her brother told roommates around noon that he was going out for coffee and would be "back soon."

However, she wrote, "He was displaying some very troubling behaviors, and his friends and family are worried he's having a mental health crisis."

McLerran's family and friends said they were concerned about his well-being as they spread word through media and social media, seeking information and details on his whereabouts. A search party was organized Thursday morning and reportedly involved some 30 people.