DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore. — Search crews on Sunday found a 69-year-old Oregon man who had been reported missing 17 days earlier after he failed to return home from a camping trip, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
Harry Burleigh, of Roseburg, was reported missing at 10:15 p.m. on May 7, officials said. He had been expected home from a camping trip in the Toketee area on May 6.
Authorities found Burleigh’s vehicle parked at the lower trailhead of a forest service trail that leads to Twin Lakes. Deputies said they believed that Burleigh “attempted to walk into the lakes to fish before going home.”
Last weekend, authorities said they found Burleigh’s fishing gear.
Officials with the Jackson County Search and Rescue found Burleigh around 3 p.m. Sunday.
“He was found to be walking and complaining of minor pain, but in stable condition,” deputies said. He was taken by helicopter to a local hospital for evaluation of his condition.
Officials from several area search and rescue groups assisted in the search for Burleigh, as did members of the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Wolf Creek Job Corp. Hotshots and other organizations, according to the deputies.
“This was the outcome we all have been looking for in this case. It is because of our determined Search and Rescue Teams and the partnerships we have with other SAR teams from around the state, that Mr. Burleigh has been re-united with his family this evening,” Sgt. Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “The Sheriff’s Office wants to thank everyone who was involved in this mission.”