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64-Year-Old Woman Rescued After Harrowing 48 Hours Lost In Oregon Park

December 12, 2024

Today's good news story is from Astoria, Oregon.

A 64-year-old woman missing for two days in Shore Acres State Park, Oregon, was successfully rescued on Sunday afternoon, thanks to a collaborative effort between the Coast Guard and ground rescue teams.

Credit: U.S. Coast Guard video

The woman had become separated from her foraging party on Friday evening, prompting an immediate search. A Coast Guard helicopter equipped with a thermal sensing camera scanned the area Friday night but faced challenges as worsening weather obscured visibility.

Ground rescue teams resumed their efforts on Saturday, with additional aerial searches, but the woman remained out of sight. By Sunday, the California Oregon Regional Search and Rescue Task Force (CORSAR) joined the mission, intensifying the search.

The breakthrough came around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, when members of the ground team heard faint shouting from a remote section of the park. After navigating through dense brush, they found the woman, who was cold, dehydrated, and showing signs of hypothermia. She had taken shelter under a log to escape the harsh weather—a move that inadvertently concealed her from heat-detection cameras.

A Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to the scene, hoisting the woman aboard and transporting her to a hospital in North Bend for treatment.

Cmdr. Jay Kircher, operations officer and helicopter pilot at Coast Guard Air Station North Bend, praised the seamless teamwork of the agencies involved.

“The Coast Guard and our partner agencies here on the Oregon Coast routinely train together to ensure we can execute coordinated search and rescue missions whenever we’re called upon,” he said. “It’s fantastic to see this teamwork in action and produce a successful outcome.”

The woman is now recovering, and her story serves as a testament to the dedication and skill of rescue crews.

Watch the helicopter rescue in the video below.