August 12, 2025

Missing Gresham mountain biker fell from ‘steep incline,’ struggled to find his way back to trail

The Gresham

mountain biker who was missing for six days

after heading off on a trip to Mount Hood lost his footing and fell from a “steep incline,” causing him to be stranded for days in a heavily-wooded area, a family friend told local news outlets Thursday.

Ralph Sawyer, 52, was found alive early Thursday morning.

Officials say Sawyer made his way to his car, parked since last Friday on East Still Creek Road, and drove it back to his home in Gresham, where his 15-year-old son and neighbors called 911. They described him as “tired, cold, dirty and worn out.”

Sawyer was near Trillium Lake in the Mount Hood National Forest.

Sawyer fell down the incline on July 11 while hiking and was unable to climb back up, according to Diane Brown, a longtime friend of the family.

Sawyer followed a nearby stream, hoping to find his way back to where he had stashed his bike at the trailhead. He drank from the stream and got “incredibly ill” from the water, Brown said.

She said it wasn’t yet clear how he survived the following days and eventually made his way back to his car.

When he did make it back to the trail, he found his bike, rode it to his car and drove himself home, Brown and officials said. He also stopped for water on the way home, according to Brown.

“We knew if anyone could make it out, it would be him,” Brown said. “I think it’s fair to say that as the week went on, you start to be a little discouraged and confused on why you can’t find him, but when we got the call today, that he had driven home, I think there was shock as well as, ‘Of course he did.’”

Dozens of

search-and-rescue personnel

spent six days combing through the forest for Sawyer. Sawyer’s parked car, with his cell phone inside, was found soon after he went missing.

The searchers included teams from Clackamas County Search and Rescue, Portland Mountain Rescue, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications and the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office Air Unit.

Sawyer is still recovering at the hospital and not available for interviews, according to Brown.

Another close family friend, Jennifer Burkhart, who also spoke with local television stations Thursday, said the family was grateful for the search-and-rescue teams and community members who helped with the search, which included Burkhart herself.

“I just knew I needed to do the best I could to find Ralph,” Burkhart said. “That goal was balancing out the fear.”


—Kimberly Cortez covers breaking news, public safety and more for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached at kcortez@oregonian.com


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