Released by: Deputy Shane Zook, Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator
Date: July 08, 2021
Location: Green Lakes Trailhead
Persons Assisted: Tom Jennings, 74 year old male, Bend, OR

On 07-08-21 at about 9:40 AM, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Special Services Unit was dispatched to an injured hiker near Green Lakes Trailhead. Deschutes County Dispatch was able to obtain accurate coordinates for the injured hiker. The hiker was approximately 2.5 miles up the Green Lakes Trail from the parking lot.
Nine Search and Rescue volunteers and two deputies responded to the rescue. One volunteer was hiking in the area and responded quickly to the hiker’s location, arriving at about 10:50 AM. A law enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service also responded to the hiker’s locaton.
The remaining volunteers responded to the scene and arrived on scene with medical supplies and equipment. Search and Rescue medical team members assessed the hiker’s condition and prepared the hiker for transport down the trail with a wheeled litter. After the patient was secured in the litter, the patient was carried about 2.5 miles down the trail to the parking lot, where Bend Fire and Rescue was on scene with an ambulance.
Bend Fire and Rescue tranported the hiker to St. Charles Medical Center for further treatment.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with five K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves over 200,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 259 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 191 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.