Search teams recovered what authorities believe are Devon Dobek’s remains Sunday after the Hubbard hunter disappeared Oct. 31 in Mount Hood National Forest.
OREGON, USA — Search and rescue teams recovered what authorities believe are the remains of missing hunter Devon Dobek on Sunday in Mount Hood National Forest more than two weeks after he disappeared, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said.
Dobek, 51, of Hubbard, was reported missing Oct. 31 after he failed to return from a hunting trip about 20 miles southeast of Estacada. He had messaged a friend that he was returning early after getting a deer.
Deputies found Dobek’s truck near the Fish Creek Trailhead off Southeast Highway 224 and 54 Road, but there was no sign of a deer or Dobek, whom friends described as an experienced hunter with appropriate gear.
The sheriff’s office suspended its large-scale search operation Nov. 7 after volunteers contributed more than 4,000 hours over seven days searching the area. The search area had minimal to no cell service and included steep terrain, some of it damaged by 2020 wildfires. Resources used included technical ground teams, helicopters, airplanes, drones equipped with thermal cameras, K9 units, ATVs and cell phone tracking specialists.
Community members, family and friends searching for Dobek spotted what appeared to be a body at the base of a cliff near the trailhead Saturday afternoon and notified authorities around 3 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
Search and rescue coordinators and volunteers responded at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and deployed a rope team to attempt recovery. The location required crossing a river and traversing several hundred feet of nearly vertical cliff face. Teams suspended the effort at nightfall.
Crews resumed Sunday morning, rappelling from the top of the ridge from two directions — one from Fish Creek Campground and another from NF-45 Road.
A deputy, three U.S. Forest Service officers and volunteers spent 10 hours clearing downed trees along the evacuation route to get vehicles into a washed-out area of road, the sheriff’s office said.
Rope teams and a deputy reached the body around 1 p.m. Sunday. Teams carried the remains over rough terrain before transferring them to a wheeled litter. The evacuation took several hours.
The Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office will make an official identification.
The sheriff’s office thanked Clackamas County Search and Rescue volunteers, Portland Mountain Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications and the U.S. Forest Service for their assistance.