Crystal Roberts of Bend, along with her son, Levi, found the third of six hidden bottles for the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative’s Hidden Bottle Hunt 2023 on Saturday.
The Roberts family found the bottle at the Peter Skene Ogden viewpoint off US 97 between Madras and Redmond giving them the opportunity to direct a $1000 donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Oregon and Southwest Washington (JDRF).
In 2022, Levi was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and took the initiative to fundraise for JDRF with his own BottleDrop Give blue bag account. By partnering with local real estate offices to collect recyclable cans and bottles, Levi directly donated the redemption value of the recyclables to JDRF.
The Roberts have come close to finding the famous hidden bottles in years past, but came up short.
“The first two years- It was bittersweet. We were actually at the location both times the bottle was found. The first year we were about 15 feet away from the people when they found it,” Crystal Roberts said.
Professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies at Lewis and Clark College Joseph Gantt has written clues for the Bottle Hunt since it began in 2020.
“When you’re dealing with an area that’s 18,000 square miles which is what the Central Oregon region is for the bottle hunt, you’re trying to find a place that has some historical significance, something you can write clues about that will draw people to the location,” Gantt said.
Gantt says it’s a months-long process of choosing and researching the area and crafting messages that will inspire bottle hunters to hit the trails.
He says the work is fulfilling.
“The finder is able to direct funds to a non-profit. I get to know that my work was part of a donation to these incredibly worthy foundations and organizations around the state,” Gantt said.
RELATED: Oregon Hidden Bottle Hunt 2023 begins Wednesday
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Zone 4’s bottle was found on the fourth day, before the 5th clue could be published. The 5th clue would have been:
“His document (and death) had anniversaries on Tuesday;
in his namesake county the bottle now lies.
In his time, they didn’t park in the Oval a lot but one of these nine rocks the grand prize.”
All bottles across the state have now been found. BottleDrop has published all clues with their explanations. You can find those here.
