Two Rescues on Oregon Coast Involve Multiple Agencies in Water, on Cliff

Published 10/01/24 at 5:25 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon) – Saturday (September 28) wound up an incredibly busy weekend day for rescue teams on the central Oregon coast, having to respond to two different emergencies right after the other: one in Newport and one in Lincoln City. (Photo LCTRT)

The first was shortly after 10 a.m., with North Lincoln Fire and Rescue (NLFR) receiving a call that two people were stuck on the cliff just south of God's Thumb in the Roads End section of Lincoln City.

“Crews responded and were able to make contact with the individuals, who were not injured, via cellphone,” NLFR said. “The Lincoln County Technical Rescue Team and a Coast Guard helicopter were requested to assist in the rescue operation. The technical rescue team was able to get the two subjects off the cliff.”

Lincoln County Technical Rescue Team (LCTRT) said they sent up four team members after assessing the situation and getting equipment set up.

“On top of the hill a rope system was set up to rappel down with the patients,” LCTRT said. “This was a bit of a challenge due to limited visibility of the location of the rescuers from the rigging personnel and the extremely loose dirt and rocks on the hillside.”

Photo NLFR

The rescue required even more agencies, including a US Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station North Bend on the southern Oregon coast. LCTRT said they were able to achieve the rescue without injury to the individuals or personnel.

NLFR had some words of advice, however.

Photo LCTRT

“NLFR would like to thank our partners for their assistance,” they said. “We would also like to remind individuals to use caution when hiking in these areas and to stay on the trails. This rescue alone tied up multiple resources for over two hours and cost thousands of dollars.”

As team members from LCTRT were returning to Newport, they received a call a surfer was stuck in the surf around Yaquina Head, near Quarry Cove. Two rescue squads were already close, with nine team members arriving on scene shortly after the call, including Newport Fire Department.

The surfer took some time to find, however.

Photo NLFR

“With limited information on patient location and [not] having a visual on a surfboard, the team set up a rope system and lowered a rescuer to the cove the patient was reported to be in,” LCTRT said. “Unfortunately the patient was further over on the cliffside and unable to be reached from the initial location the team deployed at. A helicopter from USCG Air station North Bend spotted the patient and set up for a recovery of the patient. The team redeployed to a different location to be backup for the helicopter.”

Finally, the helicopter crew from North Bend spotted the surfer and relayed position to responders. The team redeployed to a different spot at that point, becoming a backup to the Coast Guard crew.

Yaquina Head - Oregon Coast Beach Connection

“The patient ended up getting in the water and swimming out towards the helicopter and was picked up by the rescue swimmer,” LCTRT said.

Pacific Ambulance also participated.

LCTRT also had advice for visitors to the Oregon coast.

“In both of these calls we had people who put themselves in a situation that caused them to become stranded and could have had a poor outcome,” the agency said. “If you are exploring the coast, please be careful, look to see what the tides are doing and know where are planning on going and what challenges you may face.”

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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