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Active search for missing hiker concluded Tyson Schrade remains missing after more than a week of searching By Kevin Gaboury
After searching in vain for a 27-year-old missing hiker for more than 10 days, Crook County Search and Rescue (SAR) officials suspended the search for Tyson Schrade on Monday pending further developments in the case.
Schrade, a Salem resident, reportedly disappeared from a Rainbow Family gathering near Indian Prairie in the Ochoco National Forest on Sept. 11, but SAR officials weren't notified until Sept. 13.
"The search is ongoing. It's not the (SAR) command trailer and the big parade of volunteers, but we're not giving up," said Crook County Special Services Commander Brandon Smith. "We're still investigating this and we're hoping some clues might give us an idea of where else to look."
After finding footprints on Sept. 18, that investigators believe are Schrade's, SAR personnel followed them for 2 « miles before reaching a hard-packed dirt road, where the footprints disappeared.
"On the last day, we walked along that road about six miles, flanking it and trying to find clues, but we just couldn't come up with anything," Smith said.
The footprints, which matched Schrade's print pattern and size, led investigators north through the rugged area of the Bridge Creek Burn before vanishing.
Smith said that on any given day of the search, there were approximately 20 SAR volunteers from Wheeler, Crook and Deschutes counties looking for Schrade, along with helicopters, airplanes and dogs - and they also utilized some less conventional methods, including the use of a psychic at the request of Schrade's mother.
However, officials are now concerned that with the recent drop in temperature, Schrade may have succumbed to hypothermia. If this is the case, Smith said he may have left behind some clothing, which could lead to his whereabouts.
"He wasn't really dressed for the elements," Smith said. "We had really cold nights last week, and he probably would have started shedding clothing. During hypothermia, the body makes you think that you're hot."
The Crook County SAR encourages hunters and anyone else in the area to keep an eye out for a studded belt, black pants cut below the knee, a black t-shirt with AUDIO written in white and a conductor-style hat - the last clothes that Schrade was seen wearing.
Schrade is described as a Caucasian male, 5' 10" in height and weighing 175 lbs. He has dark brown hair cut into a Mohawk and blue eyes.
Despite the recent developments, Smith has a feeling that Schrade is still out there.
"I'm about 80 percent certain he's still out in those woods, but there's a 20 percent chance that he jumped in with somebody and got a ride out of there," he said. "We think because of his medical condition that he's up there somewhere."
Schrade's condition reportedly causes hallucinations and delirium tremens (DTs), which are normally associated with alcohol withdrawal. It is unknown whether this was the case in Schrade.
However, Smith feels that this situation could have been prevented if Schrade had received help earlier.
"It's really a tragedy that the folks there weren't decent enough to call authorities when he was exhibiting medical problems the night before," Smith said. "He should have been hospitalized that night, but the folks there refused to do that. Then, with the conditions they knew he had, they allowed him to wander into the woods and didn't call us for two days. My heart goes out to the Schrade family."