Missing Oregon Fisherman Found After 17 Days in Wilderness
An Oregon fisherman was located and rescued by the authorities weeks after he went missing in the wilderness.
Harry Burleigh, 69, was reported missing by her wife after he failed to come back from his camping and fishing trip in Umpqua National Forest on May 6, NBC News reported.
According to FOX 59, Burleigh was in the Oregon wilderness for at least 17 nights or more than two weeks before the authorities found him on May 23 at around 3 p.m.
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Missing Oregon Fisherman Found Wilderness
The teams who were deployed to search for Harry Burleigh found two makeshift shelters in the forest. New York Daily News reported that search and rescue crews found the Oregon fisherman vehicle near a trail on May 8.
Authorities, who believed that Burleigh might have walked the trail to go fishing at Twin Lakes, left food and water on the tracks at certain times in case the Oregon fisherman passed by.
The first shelter and a tackle box that belonged to the Oregon fisherman were found in the Calf Creek area on May 16, but he was not there.
On May 23, the second makeshift shelter was discovered by the team in the forest and began calling out for the Oregon fisherman until Burleigh responded.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office said that Burleigh was walking and complained of minor pain when found but in stable condition.
The Oregon fisherman was escorted out of the area through a small helicopter before transferring to a medevac helicopter. Burleigh was flown to a hospital to be examined. After a few hours, he was released from the hospital to reunite with his family.
"This was the outcome we all have been looking for in this case," Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Brad O'Dell said.
O'Dell added that their determined search and rescue crews and the partnership with other search and rescue teams from around the state reunited Harry Burleigh with his family.
Fox59 reported that the U.S. Coastguard and the U.S. Forest Service collaborated with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office during the search and rescue operation for the Oregon fisherman.
Oregon Fisherman Went Missing
Burleigh's wife reported him as missing on May 7 at around 10:15 p.m. after he failed to return from his camping trip in the Oregon wilderness.
The search and rescue teams started their search for the Oregon fisherman in the forest, where he was reported to fish and camp.
Authorities did not release full details regarding how Burleigh went missing. NBC News underscored that the wilderness or the Umpqua National Forest, where the Oregon fisherman went out, was reported to cover more than 983,000 acres or over 1,500 square miles east of Roseburg, where Burleigh resides.
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WATCH: 17 Days Lost in a Forest, Missing Oregon Fisherman Found Safe - From CBS 17