SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION UNDERWAY NEAR MUNRA POINT

Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office

At 10:30 a.m., Monday, May 2, dispatchers received a call from a person located at the Bonneville Dam who spotted smoke from a signal fire near the top of a steep, rocky cliffside. The caller said they had access to a scope saw what appeared to be a hiker in distress.

Multnomah County sheriffs’ deputies responded to the location to verify the report. Using binoculars, deputies confirmed the sighting and activated the Multnomah County Search and Rescue (MCSOSAR) members. Because of the precarious location of the hiker, the Sheriff’s Office also dispatched the Hood River Crag Rats, a highly-skilled mountain rescue team.

Around 1 p.m., two hasty teams with members from MCSOSAR and Crag Rats left the trailhead to attempt to contact the stranded hiker and determine the safest rescue option. Deputies have not been able to contact the person nor identify the individual. It’s also not clear how the hiker accessed the area or how long they have been in distress.

Munra Point is an exposed rocky viewpoint located west of Wahclella Falls. The Munra Point trail is not maintained and climbs approximately 2,000 vertical feet in two miles.

Currently, the area is experiencing moderate rain and temperatures in the upper forties.

The media staging area is in the Tanner Creek Fishway parking lot at the Bonneville Dam campus. A PIO is on scene.