August 31, 2010
Hunter rescued in east Linn County
Linn County Search and Rescue on Monday night rescued a hunter who was injured Monday morning in a fall down a steep hillside in the Gate Creek area about 40 miles east of Sweet Home, Sheriff Tim Mueller said.
Jim Roy Sloan, 56, of Portland was bow hunting with Wendy Heiser Wente, 40, of Hillsboro in an area that Mueller said has more than 70 percent slopes, large standing timber and extensive timber blow-down. Sloan lost his footing and fell at least 15 feet, snapping bones in his lower right leg.
“Both hunters were well-equipped and prepared,” Mueller said. “They both had GPS units and Wente punched in waypoint coordinates before hiking back to the forest service road they came in on. It took her about 45 minutes to find a spot where she could get cellular reception. It was definitely rough going.”
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office relayed the 911 call to Linn County about 12:42 p.m. and the search and rescue team left Albany at 2:22 p.m.
Linn County had 12 search and rescue team members, four deputies and two timber deputies on the scene. The Camp Sherman Hasty Team and the Sisters/Black Butte Fire Department sent three medics.
“Due to the steep terrain and the fact that Mr. Sloan was about three miles off a main road, we requested a rescue helicopter from the state, but none was available,” Mueller said. “Also, there
wasn’t a good landing zone due to the terrain. They would have had to winch him out in a basket.”
Using mapping software, search and rescue team leader Joe Larsen located an old logging road that provided access. When they arrived, medics stabilized Sloan and gave him pain relief medication. Mueller said team members tied Sloan onto a stretcher and carried him up the steep slope.
They returned to the incident command site about 11:30 p.m., where Sloan was transferred to an ambulance and taken to St. Charles Hospital in Bend.
“It was rough going in several places,” Mueller said. “They really used all of their training to good effect. Joe said this was one of the best search and rescue missions our team has been on. It was old school, hard going and they used all of their skills.”.