Stranded hiker in flip-flops sends smoke signal from steep Oregon cliff, police say

A hiker wearing flip-flop sandals and carrying a dead cellphone built a fire to stay warm for the night. It saved his life, Oregon authorities said.

The 51-year-old hiker left his home Sunday, May 1, to go for a hike on an unfamiliar trail. After a few hours, he lost the trail and became disoriented, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said.

“He began working his way down the hillside until he could not go any further due to sheer cliffs,” deputies said in a news release. “The hiker said he was only wearing flip-flop sandals, which came off during his descent. The hiker said his cellphone battery also died.”

With no way to contact anyone, the hiker decided to make a fire for the night and shelter in place, he told deputies. In the morning, a worker at the Bonneville Dam spotted the fire’s smoke and reported it.

Deputies used binoculars to confirm the smoke, the sheriff’s office said, and activated a search and rescue operation. Two teams were sent to contact the stranded hiker at a “precarious location.”

After hours of searching, rescuers found the hiker at about 4 p.m. on Monday, May 2, the sheriff’s office said. He could walk and communicate with the rescuers.

The hiker showed signs of mild hypothermia but was otherwise in good condition and did not go to a hospital, deputies said.

“The hiker was found near Munra Point; the trail to Munra Point is not an official trail and is not maintained,” the sheriff’s office said. “SAR members reported the trail to be in extremely poor shape, steep, slippery, dangerous and very difficult to follow.”

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