Searchers find 73-year-old man lost three days in wilderness

William Cox pets a dog Wednesday that was involved in the search to find him after he became lost in rugged wilderness of the Sixes River area. Photo courtesy of Curry County Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff John Bishop said William Cox was taken to a hospital in North Bend for medical care.

“Mr. Cox was found near the end of Forest Service Spur Road 393, off of the main 5210 road in the Sixes area,” Bishop said. “He was found about a half mile away from the point he was last seen on Sunday. He was found in an extremely dense and steep patch of forest near a camp spot he had carved out sometime Monday.”

Lack of water became a serious problem for Cox, Bishop said.  

“In his attempt to climb out of the drainage, he traveled well away from the abundant water below – then ran out when he was he became stuck,” Bishop said. 

“When located, he was dehydrated and very weak. The lack of water was a huge threat to his survival.”

Cox was located about 5:13 p.m. Wednesday by a search team comprised largely of family members assigned to re-search that area, Bishop said.

“It had been searched on Tuesday by family members and SAR teams but, due to the steep terrain, it was deemed we needed to try again,” Bishop said.

Once Cox was found, he was carried out on a stokes-litter to the nearest clearing where a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter was waiting and a USCG rescue swimmer was lowered into the clearing, who secured Cox. He was then taken to the hospital.

California-Oregon Search and Rescue Searchers from Curry, Coos, Del Norte, Douglas, Josephine, and Jackson counties participated in the three-day search, including five separate K9 teams. 

At 10:20 a.m. Monday, the Curry County Sheriff’s Office received a call from 27-year old Robert Nodine reporting that his uncle, Cox, and his father, Robert Nodine Sr., 62, were missing in the upper area of Sixes River.

Nodine said he left his father and uncle on Sunday to retrieve their car and meet them the next day at Sixes River Campground. The two men were going to hike down the south fork of the river to the campground. When they didn’t show Monday morning, Nodine called authorities.

Bishop described the area as being about 27 miles east of the intersection of Highway 101 and Sixes River Road.

“This is nasty territory. One slip and there’s a 200-foot fall in many places,” he said.

Based on information provided by Nodine, Bishop activated the Curry County Search and Rescue team to find the father and uncle. On Monday afternoon, a search team found the father, who had managed to hike out of the Sixes River ravine to a nearby dirt road. 

He said the path down the river had been blocked by a waterfall. The uncle, Bishop said, may have tried to get around the waterfall and continue hiking down the river toward the campground. 

“Hundreds of volunteer hours were spent by search teams combing some of the steepest and most unforgiving terrain in Curry County,” Bishop said. “It is also some of most beautiful country in Curry County and explains why Mr. Cox and his party were there in the first place. Members of other SAR teams stated it was the roughest area they had ever been in.”

The sheriff said family members and friends of Cox participated each day and were invaluable to the search effort, providing detailed information about the South Fork Smith River drainage area. 

“They were there from the start and never gave up hope of finding Mr. Cox alive,” Bishop said.

Bishop thanked everyone who assisted in the search. 

“There were many members who put their lives on hold and risked injury,” he said. “Special thanks to the K9 teams and SAR members for providing key indicators that ultimately proved correct in pointing to the area where Cox was found. The core members of Curry County SAR deserve a lot of credit for this very difficult search.”