An 87-year-old Bend-area man was found safe and in good shape this morning after he spent the night in his vehicle, which became stuck Wednesday in the national forest south of Tumalo Falls.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said Thomas O. Laidlaw, who has lived in the area since the 1940s, went to scout game Wednesday in an area off Skyliners Road. Around 9:30 p.m. Laidlaw used his cellular phone to call his brother in Bend, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. He told his brother his vehicle was stuck and he planned to spend the night in it. Laidlaw carries extra clothing and provisions in his vehicle, the news release stated. The National Weather Service recorded a temperature of 28 degrees in Bend early this morning, according to its Web site.
The brother, who was not identified, called 911. Deputies and law enforcement officers with the Forest Service searched the roads in the area during the night but did not find Laidlaw or his vehicle, the news release stated. The type of cell phone Laidlaw carried and its provider prevented law enforcement from pinging, or attempting to electronically locate, the phone, and calls to the phone went directly to voice mail, indicating it was out of range or turned off.
More law enforcement and search and rescue personnel joined the search this morning, and the Oregon State Police diverted one of the agency’s planes that was headed to Christmas Valley to search the area.
About 9 a.m. Laidlaw again called his brother and told him he was at the cross-country ski shelter at Swede Ridge, which is between Virginia Meissner and Swampy Lakes sno parks. The state police plane flew over the area, and its occupants reported that they saw a man waving to them, the news release stated. Rescuers found Laidlaw at the shelter about 11:25 a.m. and took him to his brother’s home in Bend.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment