Released by: Deputy Aaron Myers, Assistant Search and Rescue Coordinator
Date: 08/22/2021
Location: South Sister
Person Assisted: Farney, Julia 25 year old female, Portland, Oregon
On August 22, 2021, at approximately 1600 hours, 911 Dispatch received a call from a hiker near the top of South Sister who reported a person hiking in their group, Julia Farney had a medical issue that prevented her from hiking further down the mountain without the assistance of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team.
Dispatch was able to obtain GPS coordinates of the groups’ location and provided those coordinates to DCSO Search and Rescue.
Due to the nature of the reported medical condition, Airlink was contacted and agreed to assist by transporting two DCSO Search and Rescue Volunteers to a landing zone near the location where Farney was. The two DCSO SAR Volunteers reached the landing zone at approximately 1800 hours. The two SAR Volunteers hiked approximately ½ mile from the landing zone to Farney to begin medical assessment and treatment. The SAR Volunteers reached Farney at approximately 1840 hours.
10 DCSO SAR Volunteers drove to the Devils Lake Trailhead and began the hike up to Farney’s location to assist the other two DCSO SAR Volunteers. The DCSO SAR Volunteers assisted Farney approximately 1 mile down the trail in a litter to another landing zone where Airlink had landed. The DCSO SAR Volunteers reached this landing zone at approximately 2100 hours. Farney was transported by Airlink to St. Charles-Bend.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank Airlink for their assistance in this mission.
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.
