The Linn County Sheriff’s Office announced on May 13 that a search is underway for Jerry Highsmith, an 80-year-old hiker from Lebanon, who was reported overdue after backpacking near Fir Lake off Big Meadows Road east of Idanha.
According to Sheriff Michelle Duncan, the office received a call at 5:25 p.m. reporting Highsmith missing when he did not return home as planned by Tuesday evening before incoming weather. Deputies found his vehicle parked at the Fir Lake trailhead and began searching the area with assistance from Search and Rescue volunteers.
“Deputies responded to the area and located Mr. Highsmith’s vehicle parked at the Fir Lake trailhead off Big Meadows Road. A deputy and a Search and Rescue volunteer hiked into the Fir Lake area while additional Search and Rescue resources were being activated. Despite a thorough search of the trail and area around the lake, deputies were unable to locate Mr. Highsmith,” Duncan said.
Duncan also said that full Search and Rescue teams have been deployed, working through heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight without interruption. Additional support from neighboring counties has been requested as operations continue today.
Highsmith is described as an experienced hiker likely prepared for several nights outdoors. He is about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs approximately 200 pounds, has medium length gray hair, but his clothing description is unknown.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office asks anyone who was in the Big Meadows Road or Fir Lake areas in recent days who may have seen or spoken with Jerry Highsmith to contact them immediately at (541) 967-3950 referencing case number 26-01799. “Any information, no matter how small, could be critical to bringing Mr. Highsmith home safely,” Duncan said.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office covers over two thousand square miles in Oregon’s Willamette Valley with about 190 full-time staff across six divisions; it maintains modern facilities including its jail and administrative headquarters in Albany; it advances public service through community engagement initiatives; it functions as an official agency of county government; and it is dedicated to maintaining peace with dignity while treating all people respectfully, according to the official website.
