Woman hiking with her dog gets lost on one of Oregon’s tallest peaks, cops say
A 61-year-old woman was hiking one of Oregon’s tallest mountains with her dog when she got lost, authorities said.
The Springfield woman was separated from her hiking partner and became disoriented on Friday, Sept. 30 as she was descending South Sister mountain and got lost, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
South Sister mountain is Oregon’s third tallest peak at 10,358 feet. The trail to the summit is steep, rugged and difficult.
She tried calling 911 at 4:18 p.m. but the lack of cell service ended the call, authorities said.
Rescuers then tried to contact the woman multiple times by calling and texting her, though they couldn’t reach her, deputies said. A cellphone ping of her location was also unsuccessful.
An hour later, the woman was able to contact authorities and told them she had food, water, an extra cell phone battery and warm clothes, deputies said.
The hiker said she couldn’t get back on the trail and had lost her hiking partner, deputies said.
A rescue helicopter spotted the woman near the Le Conte Crater Trail southwest of the mountain, deputies said.
Rescuers hiked to where the woman was from the South Sisters Climbers Trail and found her at 8:12 p.m., deputies said.
The woman returned to her hiking partner at the Devils Lake Trailhead.
South Sister mountain is about 25 miles west of Bend.
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