Lost hikers exit woods unharmed

An Ellensburg, Washington, man and his son walked out of the woods near Sisters on Sunday, August 15, after a 40-member search team was mobilized to find them.

According to Deschutes County Sheriff's Office reports, 42-year-old Dr. Robert Harald Perkins - a Scout Master and college professor - and his 15-year-old son had planned to hike from the Pole Creek trailhead south of Sisters, climb Middle Sister, then trek cross-country to Devil's Lake near Century Drive, where another family member was to pick them up.

The hikers did not allow enough time to reach the summit on Saturday and attempted to cut across country to Devil's Lake. Instead, a sheriff's spokesman reported, an incorrect compass bear- ing led the hikers down a drainage where they spent the night in below-freezing temperatures.

Perkins called 9-1-1 on his cell phone on Sunday morning, triggering a search by Deschutes County Search and Rescue, including five horsemen, six people on mules, 20 mountaineers, six Forest Service employees and an aircraft search crew.

According to sheriff's office reports, Perkins gave incorrect map coordinates, due to a compass error. Searchers believe the compass was possibly thrown off by proximity to the cell phone.

While the searchers were led astray, Perkins reportedly called his voice mail twice to leave messages for his wife, instructing her to pick them up at Green Lakes Trailhead. However, the sheriff's office reported, he again did not contact 9-1-1.

At about 8:30 p.m. the hikers were found on the gravel road north of the Pole Creek Trailhead, 20 trail miles in the opposite direction of their announced destination and headed for Sisters.

According to sheriff's office reports, when asked why he had not lighted a fire the night before, the scout master replied, "I forgot matches."