Crook County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue helped a Prineville woman and her two dogs dog back to safety early Sunday after a night in the Mill Creek Wilderness.
A family member of 33-year-old Karina Porter called 911 around 11:23 Saturday night saying she was long overdue from hiking to Twin Pillars east of Prineville.
Michael Ryan, the emergency manager with CCSO SAR, said Search and Rescue operations began at 12:10 a.m. in the area of Wildcat Campground located on Mill Creek Rd at the south end of the Mill Creek Wilderness.
Teams started from the North end of the trail at Bingham Prairie and the South end at Wildcat Campground.
Around 3:20 a.m. the southern volunteer search team heard barking dogs, which were reported with Porter.
They found her about 10 minutes later – she was uninjured and in good condition, Ryan said.
The SAR team escorted Porter back to the Wildcat Campground and carried the two dogs because their paws were sore due to the rough ground.
Porter told SAR teams she started back in the late afternoon after running low on water.
She stopped for the night around 7 p.m. due to exhaustion and the dog’s sore paws, Ryan said.
The Crook County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone to leave detailed plans with someone when venturing out into the wilderness and then try to stick to the plan.
It’s always a good idea to have some basic supplies like food, sufficient water, and warm clothing.
A GPS is also an excellent tool for staying on trail systems. Some are equipped with the ability to text your location via satellite to 911 or a friend.
The Sheriff’s Office has small pamphlets with an “outing plan”, developed by one of our long time Search and Rescue Volunteers, which can be filled out with important information and left with family members.
The brochures also have a recommended list of items to keep on hand as well as survival tips. If anyone would like one of the pamphlets, they can be picked up free of charge at the front counter of the Crook County Sheriff’s Office.
