Missing Oregon Hunter

[ODB]

Man…so sad. Pole sana. I hope at least the closure brings a modicum of peace to the family.

 

[dtrkyman]

Sad news, God Speed!

 

[Bighorse]

Well shit! Sorry Devon

 

[Kenn]

Unverified, but apparently he fell 40’ not far from his truck with meat strapped to his back.

 

[tim tarras]

Sad News.

 

[IDVortex]

Unverified, but apparently he fell 40’ not far from his truck with meat strapped to his back.

Thats truly sad if its true. Be curious if theyre release what happened? Its sad when a death happenes, but also knowing what happened can make folks be more aware. Sad no matter what. Especially being that close to being done.

 

[hibernation]

Thats truly sad if its true. Be curious if theyre release what happened? Its sad when a death happenes, but also knowing what happened can make folks be more aware. Sad no matter what. Especially being that close to being done.

The aviation and mountaineering/climbing communities are very good about this. Once some time has passed and all the details are confirmed, the rest of us can learn something from an accident without being disrespectful to those involved.

 

[TaperPin]

Poor guy. It can’t be stressed how dangerous drop offs are, or getting stuck on shelves coming down a route you haven’t gone up. Whatever the details end up being, it’s sobering that 4,000 man hours, some cell phone pings, and sos rifle shots couldn’t locate him a mile (?) from the truck. Hopefully his story is kept alive to educate future hunters and help reduce high risk route finding.

'Generosity changed everything': Closure for Devon Dobek's family - The Outlook

Fundraising campaign and volunteer search recovers Devon Dobek's body in Mount Hood National Forest outside Estacada

theoutlookonline.com

 

[hibernation]

Poor guy. It can’t be stressed how dangerous drop offs are, or getting stuck on shelves coming down a route you haven’t gone up. Whatever the details end up being, it’s sobering that 4,000 man hours, some cell phone pings, and sos rifle shots couldn’t locate him a mile (?) from the truck. Hopefully his story is kept alive to educate future hunters and help reduce high risk route finding.

That area is so bad for cliffed out sections, and they're all half-vegetated and unstable rock conglomerate. Not to mention always wet and covered in moss. Coming out heavy in the dark, it's so easy to miss how bad the terrain really is.

I had a bad packout a few years ago, trying to routefind from a new area in the dark with a full load of meat. That experience, plus reading about this one, have really reshaped my feelings on just plowing out through unknown country in the dark. Sometimes it's better to just hang it up for the night near where you shot it and come back the next morning.

Also, I wonder if SAR ever confirmed those were his shots? You hear so many random shots in that area, I wouldn't be surprised if it was completely unrelated. Just some dude camped by his truck shooting at 2am for no reason.

 

[dtrkyman]

I saw a youtube video of a couple guys involved in the search, insane terrain! They pointed out from a road where he was found, was damn close to the access point he parked at I believe they said!

Very dense and extremely steep.

I offered some advice to some friends hunting an area I was familiar with, they asked about a spot and I told to just flat out avoid it, lava flow area with some insane holes, no way you go in there in the dark!

 

[elkliver]

There is a thread on I fish where the poster had visited with deputies in the parking lot. They indicated that his rifle had broke the stock off and slid down the hill farther. It had 1 empty shell in it and the rest live rounds. Indicating that it was not Devon that fired those shots. From what i have heard, it appears that he never moved after falling. Sad deal and could easily happen... I am sure most folks can think back to a slip or stumble that could have been MUCH worse. There is also a video out there of his buck. Very nice blacktail

 

[wapitibob]

From his friend, posted on another forum..

".... His pack was fully loaded with the meat, buck head strapped on and I believe the gun strapped on. The deputies who were onsite with the recovery believe he may have only taken 10-15 steps before the tragic fall. The initial impact broke his rifle at the hand grip and crushed the skull of the buck head. The rifle was found about 150' below the top of the ridge where the deer carcass was at - I believe it came out of his pack on impact. Devon was found about 200' below his rifle. 6 bullets were found with Devon - 1 fired, 5 unfired - the "SOS" gunshots heard early on were not him."

 

[The Ri Guy]

From his friend, posted on another forum..

".... His pack was fully loaded with the meat, buck head strapped on and I believe the gun strapped on. The deputies who were onsite with the recovery believe he may have only taken 10-15 steps before the tragic fall. The initial impact broke his rifle at the hand grip and crushed the skull of the buck head. The rifle was found about 150' below the top of the ridge where the deer carcass was at - I believe it came out of his pack on impact. Devon was found about 200' below his rifle. 6 bullets were found with Devon - 1 fired, 5 unfired - the "SOS" gunshots heard early on were not him."

Damn.

 

[elkliver]

those footages give you an indication of how steep that country is.

 

[7mm-08]

There but for the grace of God go most of the hunters on Rokslide. Every. Single. Year. How many times have most of us have "bailed" off a ridge to get to a road with a heavy pack? I'll bet most. RIP, Devon.

 

[IDVortex]

From his friend, posted on another forum..

".... His pack was fully loaded with the meat, buck head strapped on and I believe the gun strapped on. The deputies who were onsite with the recovery believe he may have only taken 10-15 steps before the tragic fall. The initial impact broke his rifle at the hand grip and crushed the skull of the buck head. The rifle was found about 150' below the top of the ridge where the deer carcass was at - I believe it came out of his pack on impact. Devon was found about 200' below his rifle. 6 bullets were found with Devon - 1 fired, 5 unfired - the "SOS" gunshots heard early on were not him."

That sends chills down my back. Especially in some areas ive gone into. And if I had gotten something down and started packing out at night.

This is the details of stories I do not share with my wife.

 

[KHNC]

That sends chills down my back. Especially in some areas ive gone into. And if I had gotten something down and started packing out at night.

This is the details of stories I do not share with my wife.

THese and grizz encounters

 

[IDVortex]

THese and grizz encounters

Im terrible. Griz encounters i tell her about all the time.

 

[welkin]

Burns are particularly dangerous to move through. Climbing over all those logs, the junk on the ground to trip on, places where your foot goes through the soil because burned up tree roots leave hollowed out spots, generally destabilized soils, snags/widow makers that can fall at any time. I have not been to this particular area but a forestry crew that I work with has been in there a bunch, I'm always doing something different when they go. They always talk about Fish Creek with dread and most of the other places we work are pretty ******* treacherous.

Taking a fall at work or hunting and spending the night out in the elements with an injury is a nightmare that I often contemplate. RIP Devon.

 

[SawtoothSportsman]

This is another example of the importance of having an InReach with tracking enabled and left on while one is in the mountains.

Agree with having an in reach - but it’s worth noting the always tracking mode will drain your battery.

You can offset that by reducing the tracking frequency or carrying portable charger.

Personally I send a “check-in message” at regular intervals with GPS coordinates included and only using tracking when packing out or in challenging terrain.