By Emily Scarvie
(DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ore.) A 69-year-old man was found alive Sunday by search and rescue teams after being lost for 17 nights in Umpqua National Forest, KGW reports.
At 10:15 p.m. on May 7, Harry Burleigh, of Roseburg, was reported missing after he didn’t return home from a camping trip in the Toketee area. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, he was expected to return home the day before.
Burleigh’s vehicle was located on May 8, near the lower trailhead to Forest Service trail 1500, which leads to Twin Lakes.
Last weekend, his fishing gear and a shelter were found in the area of Calf Creek. On Sunday, Douglas County Search and Rescue focused on that area, along with other search and rescue teams.
Around 3 p.m. Sunday, searchers with Jackson County Search and Rescue found a shelter located southwest of the one found the previous weekend. When searchers called out, Burleigh responded.
According to police, Burleigh was walking and in stable condition, but complained of minor pain. A helicopter took him to a waiting Lifelight helicopter, which transferred him to a hospital.
“This was the outcome we all have been looking for in this case,” said Brad O’Dell, with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “It is because of our determined Search and Rescue teams, and the partnership we have with other SAR teams from around the state, that Mr. Burleigh has been reunited with his family this evening.”