Three lost hikers found

Three hikers were found safe after they made a wrong turn and got lost in the Sisters back country.

Deputies with Deschutes County Sheriff's Office and Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue were dispatched at about 12:15 a.m. on Saturday, September 11, to a report of three missing hikers in the Matthieu Lakes area north of the North Sister in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area.

Jessica Hill, 24, of Bend, Nicole Stinnett, 24, of Portland and Rosita Rerat, 25, of Bend, had gone for a day hike from the Lava Lake Trailhead and headed towards their destination of North Matthieu Lake and had last been seen around 1 p.m. on Friday, September 10.

The three hikers missed their trail turnoff and ended up south of South Matthieu Lake and became lost. According to the sheriff's office, the three hikers were not prepared for an overnight stay. Family members became concerned and started checking the area, eventually locating the hikers' vehicle at the Lava Lake Trailhead, and called 911.

Twenty-six members of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue unit responded and started searching the area by foot and on horseback. At about 8:30 a.m., a horse team located the three lost hikers two miles south of South Matthieu Lake near Yapoah Crater. The three hikers had spent a very cold night outside in below-freezing conditions without the proper clothing or food.

Hill, Stinnett and Rerat were provided with warm clothing and food and taken back to the Lava Lake trailhead.