Released By: Sergeant Jason Wall
Release Date: May 27, 2023
On Friday May 26th, 2023, at about 2:30 PM. Deschutes County 911 Dispatch received a 911 call regarding a motorcycle crash in the East Fort Rock OHV trail system area near China Hat Rd. milepost 17.5. The 911 caller reported that a 63-year-old female had been riding on OHV “Trail 18” when she crashed on her motorcycle and sustained non-life-threatening injuries that limited her mobility.
This 911 call was split to Bend Fire and Rescue, though due to the location of the patient, Bend Fire requested the assistance of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue volunteers. The patient was reported to be approximately 1.5 miles from the nearest ambulance accessible road (China Hat Rd. FS 18). Vehicle Access to the patient was limited (single track motorcycle trail) though people within the injured patient group reported that an ATV could access this location.
At approximately 2:44 pm SAR volunteers were dispatched. A total of 8-SAR volunteers with 6-SAR ATV’s responded to this call, as well as two Special Services Deputies assigned to Search and Rescue. At approximately 3:50 PM a Special Services Deputy arrived in the area and met with two motorcycle riders who were riding with the patient at the time of the crash.
These riders assisted by identifying the quickest trail access to reach the patient for the responding SAR volunteers. At about 4:10 pm two SAR teams arrived at the staging location and deployed on ATV’S. At about 4:15 pm the SAR volunteers arrived with the patient.
The patient’s injuries were evaluated by SAR medical team members, and she was subsequently loaded into a litter and onto a patient transport ATV trailer (ATV towed trailer). The patient was then transported out of the trail system to China Hat Road where Bend Fire and Rescue were staged with an ambulance. The patient was then transported to St. Charles Bend.
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, Street Crimes, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with six K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves 210,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 265 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 195 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.
