Search underway for 'experienced' hunter missing in Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest: Sheriff
A multi-agency search is underway for an "experienced" hunter who has been missing in Oregon's Mount Hood National Forest since Friday evening, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.
Devon Dobek, 51, was reported missing at approximately 6:20 p.m. on Friday, the sheriff's office said in a press release over the weekend.
Dobek, who is from Hubbard, Oregon, was "due to return from his hunting trip late Friday but had messaged a friend that he was returning early after getting a deer," officials said.
Deputies found the missing hunter's truck near the Fish Creek Trailhead on Friday, but "there was no sign of a deer or of Mr. Dobek," sparking a multi-agency search-and-rescue operation, officials said.
While searching for Dobek overnight on Friday, "gunshots, presumed to be from the missing hunter, were heard at various times," but officials were unable to pinpoint the exact location of the shots, the sheriff's office said.
On Sunday, over 100 rescuers were on the ground searching for Dobek, who is described as an "experienced hunter equipped with appropriate gear," officials said. It was cool and rainy over the weekend in Mount Hood.
Along with search operations on foot, drone teams, ATVs and canines were utilized to help search for Dobek on Sunday, officials said. Support from the sheriff's aviation unit and a helicopter from the Oregon National Guard were also deployed to assist in the search, officials said.
Officials said they are attempting to locate Dobek through cellphone and GPS tracking, but said "signal coverage in the area is weak or non-existent."
Updates on the search for Dobek "will be shared as more information becomes available," officials said.
Mount Hood National Forest dealt with a similar search-and-rescue operation in July, when an avid mountain biker was reported missing after going on a planned biking trip near the mountain, officials said. After nearly a weeklong search, the biker, 52-year-old Ralph Sawyer, was located safely.
Anyone with information on Dobek's whereabouts is urged to contact the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office at 503-723-4949.
