Rescue crew out on hike stumbles upon body of man missing for months, Oregon cops say
Rescue crew members out on a hike stumbled upon the body of an Oregon man reported missing months ago, deputies said.
Dustin Jay Steyding was last seen leaving work in late July and was reported missing about a month later, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a Sept. 7 Facebook post.
Steyding, of Yachats, was in “good physical condition, having previously worked as a hot shot firefighter in New Mexico” deputies said, adding that he frequently went “for hikes to stay in shape” and was “very experienced in the woods.”
Steyding’s family found his car Sept. 4 on Keller Creek Road in Lane County, deputies said.
Deputies said they determined the car had been there “for some time” and could not discern which way Steyding may have traveled.
The following day, Lane County Sheriff’s Office’s search and rescue team explored the area, authorities said.
However, after two days of searching, they didn’t find any evidence about Steyding’s possible whereabouts.
Months later, as Benton County Sheriff’s Office Search & Rescue volunteers were hiking “near Cummins Peak southeast of Yachats,” they stumbled upon remains, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 16 Facebook post. The hikers happened to be volunteers on previous searches for Steyding, authorities said.
Search and rescue crews responded to retrieve the remains, which were close to the “bottom of an extremely steep coastal drainage,” deputies said.
Rescuers used a rope system to hoist the remains and rescuers “800 feet up the drainage to safe ground,” a recovery that took more than 10 hours, deputies said.
Days later, the remains were positively identified as Steyding, deputies said in a Feb. 21 update.
Yachats is about 100 miles southwest of Salem.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Rescue crew out on hike stumbles upon body of man missing for months, Oregon cops say."
