Father of four found dead in snowy forest days after vanishing on hike, Oregon cops say
Published at
Helena Wegner, Idaho Statesman
CLACKAMAS, OREGON (Idaho Statesman) — A father of four was found dead days after he set out on a snowy hike in an Oregon forest, deputies and family said.
James Robert MacDonald’s body was discovered at about 10:30 a.m. Nov. 8 near Hidden Lake Trail, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
MacDonald went on a day hike two days prior in the Mount Hood National Forest, deputies said.
His family got worried when he never returned, so they called authorities.
Although MacDonald was an experienced hiker, his family told deputies he didn’t have gear to stay in the woods overnight in the cold.
Multiple search teams began looking for the man from Ridgefield, Washington, deputies said. They found what appeared to be his footprints in the snow.
A helicopter and drones were also used to search for him but, but he never turned up, deputies said.
Then on Nov. 8, authorities found his body.
“The loss of James is incomprehensible. He was a dedicated father, husband, and physician,” his sister-in-law Rocky Lynne Seeley wrote on a GoFundMe page.
He was “unfailingly loyal, thoughtful, and a true family man,” his wife was quoted in the donation page as saying.
MacDonald was a father of four young children, Gabriel, 6; Lucas, 4; and 1-year-old twins, William and Elizabeth.
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