Injured hiker stranded 5 days in sand dunes before rescue, Oregon sheriff says

A 54-year-old hiker injured when he fell off a sand dune along the central Oregon coast spent 5 days stranded before he was found by other hikers, sheriff’s officials say.

The man, who had suffered neck and back injuries in the fall that prevented him from hiking out, also was dehydrated, a Coos County Sheriff’s Department press release said.

Other hikers found him at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and notified authorities, the release said.

Firefighters hiked in to provide first aid, but the terrain made rescue by land impossible, even with all-terrain vehicles. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter airlifted the man to safety.

He was taken to a hospital, the release said.

The man had been hiking on the John Dellenback Dunes Trail, which the U.S. Forest Service describes as a 2.7-mile hike from a conifer forest through “soft, open sand dunes” to the beach..

The site warns that the unmarked trail through the dunes changes constantly and advises hikers to climb a tall dune to get their bearings.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Injured hiker stranded 5 days in sand dunes before rescue, Oregon sheriff says."