Hiker dies in fall on Mt. Washington

A Big Lake Youth Camp contractor was killed last week in a fall on Mt. Washington west of Sisters.

On July 1, combined resources from the Linn County Sheriff's Office, Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, and Oregon Army National Guard searched an area of Mt. Washington for Brian Robak, 28, from Hillsboro.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office had received a call from the Big Lake Youth Camp at about 3:32 a.m., reporting that Robak was overdue from hiking up nearby Mt. Washington. Robak had left his vehicle at the camp and began his hike by himself at about noon. At about 4:30 p.m., Robak took photos from the summit of Mt. Washington, sending them to some of his family and friends.

Robak was due back at the camp at 8 p.m., but did not arrive. Staff members from the camp hiked up a portion of the trail in an attempt to locate Robak, but were unsuccessful. Numerous attempts were made to contact Robak via his cell phone without success. Searchers attempted to obtain further location information from Robak's cell phone, without success.

Saturday afternoon, during an air search of the mountain utilizing an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter, searchers located Robak's body.

According to authorities, it appeared that Robak fell a significant distance from near the top of Mt. Washington.