Missing Oregon hikers rescued from backcountry after writing “SOS” in snow | Breaking News Updates

Two 19-year-old hikers who vanished in the snow-capped mountains of Oregon last week were rescued on Saturday after the “SOS” sign they had written in the snow caught the attention of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The men had camped on Mount Swastika, 32 miles east of Eugene, on or about December 25, but did not return by December 29, the US Coast Guard said in a statement. Press. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office received a report that the couple were missing on December 31 and began a ground search.

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But a recent heavy snowfall in the area had blanketed the mountain roads, making it difficult to find the ground. To help locate the missing men, the sheriff’s office enlisted the help of the Coast Guard MH-65 crew.

During the search for the hikers, the crew located two other people in distress and reported their location to the sheriff’s office ground crew, the coast guard said.

The two 19-year-olds were eventually found unharmed and hoisted to safety, according to the coast guard. The crew transported them to Eugene Airport, where sheriff’s deputies were waiting for them.

A coast guard official said the two men, whose names have not been released, made the right decision to stay near their car and write an “SOS” signal in the snow.

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“These young men did a lot of things to give themselves the best chance of being rescued,” said Lt. Maggie Champin, MH-65 aircraft commander for the North Bend sector. “By writing ‘SOS’ in the snow, staying close to their vehicle, and staying close to forest paths, we were able to find them quite quickly.”

Champin recommended that hikers take personal locator beacons with them when traveling in the backcountry.

The Swastika Mountain, located in the Umpqua National Forest, was named after the swastika-shaped mark that a local rancher used on his cattle before Adolf Hitler and the Nazis took hold. appropriate the symbol, according to the Oregonian.