Wednesday, September 28, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Searchers attempt to aid lost and injured hiker
Deschutes County Search
and Rescue personnel aided
a hiker who fell and injured
himself on Broken Top on
Sunday, September 25.
According to Deschutes
County Sheriff ’s Office
reports, 9-1-1 dispatch
received a phone call from
Douglas Amend at about 11
a.m. Amend reported he had
been hiking around the north-
east side of Broken Top, had
fallen and slid a significant
distance and had injured him-
self. Amend, 54, had been
hiking with two other friends
earlier, but had chosen to con-
tinue by himself, attempting
to get to a higher elevation.
Amend believed the area into
which he had slid was not
accessible by his friends and
told them to go back to the
Broken Top trailhead and he
would contact them later.
Amend requested rescu-
ers respond with ATVs to
help transport him back to
the trailhead, but due to the
wilderness area he was in,
ATVs could not make it any-
where near his location. Also,
mechanized equipment (ATV,
snowmobile, helicopter) are
only allowed to be used in
the wilderness when there is
a danger to life, limb or eye-
sight, which was not the case
with Amend’s reported inju-
ries. Amend had knowledge
of the area, having hiked
there previously and reported
he would begin walking out
on his own. Amend commu-
nicated his plan with a SAR
deputy and agreed to stay in
contact with updates on his
progress and condition.
At 3:20 p.m., Amend
texted the deputy, reporting
he was now lost and his cell
phone had one percent of bat-
tery life remaining. All other
attempts to communicate with
Amend were unsuccessful. 14
SAR volunteers and two dep-
uties were deployed to search
for Amend. Prior to reporting
his lost status, Amend had
texted he was making good
time and should be back to
the Broken Top trailhead
within 90 minutes. With this
clearly not being the case, it
was determined it was pos-
sible Amend’s injuries were
more significant than what
was reported. AirLink was
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contacted and assisted with
an aerial search for Amend.
At 7:19 p.m., 9-1-1 dis-
patch received another call
from Amend, stating he was
now at the Park Meadow
trailhead and needed a ride.
Amend had attempted to send
additional text messages after
reporting he was lost, but
they had not gone through.
A nearby DCSO deputy
responded and made contact
with Amend, who was ulti-
mately transported to his resi-
dence in Bend. Amend sought
medical assistance on his own
at a later time.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff ’s Office reminds
those that recreate outdoors
to prepare accordingly for
your activity. Some consider-
ations include proper clothing
for day and night conditions
in your environment, even if
you do not expect to be out
overnight. Ensure you have
adequate water and food,
topographical trail maps,
extra batteries or charging
options for phones or gPS
units. Bring a light source
and a signaling device. Seek
out information regarding
the area and what may be
encountered, such as current
and projected weather con-
ditions as well as terrain in
the area. Tell someone where
you are going, what you will
be taking with you and when
you plan to return.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff ’s Office strongly
encourages those recreating
in the outdoors to do so with a
partner(s) and not to separate.