The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team assisted with three separate missions around the county Friday night.
At about 5:54 p.m., a deputy was dispatched to an injured hiker near Broken Hand, which is a small peak to the north east of Broken Top. Matthew Condon, 32, from Forest Grove had taken a fall requiring immediate medical attention and evacuation. Air Link transported three SAR volunteers from St. Charles Medical Center to Condon’s location who was stabilized and carried to the area where the helicopter was able to land and sent back to St. Charles. The SAR volunteers on scene escorted another hiking partner and their dog back to the trailhead at Three Creeks Lake. All SAR volunteers were back in quarters and secured by 2:15 a.m.
At 8:07 p.m., A deputy was advised of a lost hiker near the South Sister Climbers Trail. Giuseppe Amato, 36, from Vancouver, Washington had separated from his group while on the trail. He headed back towards the trailhead by himself and took a wrong turn and ended up on the Pacific Crest Trail. He relayed to the rest of his party that he was lost just before his phone died. SAR volunteers were sent to the area to begin checking trails and left a note for the hiker on his vehicle to call 911 if he made it back to his vehicle. Just before 12:00 a.m., Amato made his way out to Cascade Lakes Highway about five-miles south of Devils Lake and flagged down a motorist and received a ride back to his car, where he found the note and called in. All SAR volunteers were back in quarters and secured by 1:41 a.m..
At about 10:40 p.m., A deputy was dispatched to a lost motorist near Fredrick Butte Road, which is on the south side of Highway 20 east, between Brothers and Hampton. Dispatch provided the deputy with coordinates for the lost motorist, Rose Jardine, 32, from Portland. She had left all roads and was driving through a vast area of sage brush. The deputy attempted to guide the motorist back towards a road by phone, but that attempt failed. The deputy drove out the the area, located the lost driver and guided them back to Highway 20.
