Guardsmen with the Oregon National Guard were deployed in a helicopter to the Mount Hood National Forest Sunday to help search for a missing deer hunter, according to officials in Clackamas County. The National Guard helicopter joined forces with other air support, including pararescuemen (PJs) with the 304th Rescue Squadron, and more than 100 searchers on the ground.
The ongoing search for the missing hunter, 51-year-old Devon Dobek, has been underway since Friday evening. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, which is overseeing the search-and-rescue operation, provided several updates over the weekend. In its most recent update, issued Sunday, the CCSO said the search was expected to continue until nightfall and resume again on Monday morning.
Dobek, of Hubbard, was first reported missing around 6:20 p.m. Friday, according to the CCSO. Dobek had been hunting solo in the Mount Hood National Forest roughly 20 miles southeast of Estacada. He was due to return home late Friday night, but had messaged a friend that he was returning early after tagging a deer.
“Deputies located Mr. Dobek’s truck near the Fish Creek Trailhead,” the CCSO explained, “but there was no sign of a deer or of Mr. Dobek, whom friends describe as an experienced hunter equipped with appropriate gear.”
Local search-and-rescue volunteers and coordinators started searching around the Fish Creek Trailhead by 10:30 p.m. Friday. The CCSO said searchers heard multiple gunshots that night, “presumed to be from the missing hunter,” but that they were unable to pinpoint the exact location of the shots.
Additional resources were brought in Saturday morning, with more than 20 searchers using drones, K9s, and ATVs. Although weather conditions initially prevented aircraft from flying, the CCSO was able to launch its fixed-wing Cessna 182 that afternoon. The sheriff’s office also called in SAR teams from several neighboring counties.
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The CCSO said in Saturday’s update that although it had received requests from community members wanting to join the search, it was not asking for additional public assistance at the time. It’s unclear if that was still the case on Sunday, at which point more than 100 searchers had gotten involved.
Several of Dobek’s friends and acquaintances have commented on the CCSO Facebook page, calling him a “knowledgeable woodsman” and an experienced hunter and survivalist. One commenter noted that Dobek has completed multiple Ironman’s.
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