Last week, I was asked to take part in something with the Red Cross that I have not done before. A few weeks ago, a 57 year old fisherman/camper went missing. After being a week overdue and looking for him their own, the family finally reported him missing. They knew where his camp was, found all his things in order, nothing looked like foul play, and so the search began. The Red Cross is providing food and refreshments to the searchers. We have a small crew going up each day to make sandwiches and set out snacks and water for everyone. I have had the training to be a part of it, but never taken the opportunity. So, on Thursday, I hopped in my car and drove up the Clackamas River...and drove...and drove and drove...miles, I could not believe it as I kept on driving. Almost 60 miles 1 way. I could have ridden up with the others in the Chapter van, but I would have had to go 45 minutes in the opposite direction to just turn around and pass my place to get out to the scene. It was a beautiful drive, I even stopped twice and took some pictures. It is so hard to imagine that such a beautiful place could be the same place that is causing so much pain for this family. One look at the terrain and you can see why they are having such a hard time finding this man. It was interesting to see what goes on from the inside of one of these searches. I watched and listened as the man in charge of it gave the morning briefing. I can't believe that by their detective work, they even know what he ate the last time he ate in camp, they know about what he is carrying and how much snacks and water he took along with him. People were calling in tips to the Tip Line and the sheriffs were responding to those calls on the spot, taking notes, returning calls and sending searchers to those areas. We even had a clairvoyant walk into camp with her husband, an elderly woman who had spoken to the sheriff the day before, I guess, he had not given her the response she wanted, so she marched herself into the camp and demanded to be listened to. According to her, she was in contact with the missing man and knew exactly where he was, she described his clothing, told us he had a broken leg and was hungry and giving up. She told us all kinds of things about this man. When I left, she was talking to the sheriff still. Actually, I was glad to be going, it was kinda creepy. The other two Red Cross guys I was working with said that she has been on one of the late night shows, like David Letterman because she also is an Animal Whisperer, and has given tips to the police many times about other missing person cases. As of this morning's report, he has still not been found.
Last week, I was asked to take part in something with the Red Cross that I have not done before. A few weeks ago, a 57 year old fisherman/camper went missing. After being a week overdue and looking for him their own, the family finally reported him missing. They knew where his camp was, found all his things in order, nothing looked like foul play, and so the search began. The Red Cross is providing food and refreshments to the searchers. We have a small crew going up each day to make sandwiches and set out snacks and water for everyone. I have had the training to be a part of it, but never taken the opportunity. So, on Thursday, I hopped in my car and drove up the Clackamas River...and drove...and drove and drove...miles, I could not believe it as I kept on driving. Almost 60 miles 1 way. I could have ridden up with the others in the Chapter van, but I would have had to go 45 minutes in the opposite direction to just turn around and pass my place to get out to the scene. It was a beautiful drive, I even stopped twice and took some pictures. It is so hard to imagine that such a beautiful place could be the same place that is causing so much pain for this family. One look at the terrain and you can see why they are having such a hard time finding this man. It was interesting to see what goes on from the inside of one of these searches. I watched and listened as the man in charge of it gave the morning briefing. I can't believe that by their detective work, they even know what he ate the last time he ate in camp, they know about what he is carrying and how much snacks and water he took along with him. People were calling in tips to the Tip Line and the sheriffs were responding to those calls on the spot, taking notes, returning calls and sending searchers to those areas. We even had a clairvoyant walk into camp with her husband, an elderly woman who had spoken to the sheriff the day before, I guess, he had not given her the response she wanted, so she marched herself into the camp and demanded to be listened to. According to her, she was in contact with the missing man and knew exactly where he was, she described his clothing, told us he had a broken leg and was hungry and giving up. She told us all kinds of things about this man. When I left, she was talking to the sheriff still. Actually, I was glad to be going, it was kinda creepy. The other two Red Cross guys I was working with said that she has been on one of the late night shows, like David Letterman because she also is an Animal Whisperer, and has given tips to the police many times about other missing person cases. As of this morning's report, he has still not been found.
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