Mountain Biker Ralph Sawyer Found Safe After Six Nights Lost in Mt. Hood Wilderness

By Marie KennedyThe Mountain Times

After six nights lost in the wild, mountain biker Ralph Sawyer is home again – tired, weathered, and alive.

The 52-year-old Gresham man shocked friends, family, and rescuers when he emerged from Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest on the morning of Thursday, July 17. He had driven himself home after surviving a harrowing, week-long ordeal in steep, brush-choked terrain – without food and with only stream water to drink.

“Mr. Sawyer showed up to a neighbor’s house tired, cold, dirty, and worn out,” the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Gresham Police confirmed his identity and transported him to a local hospital for evaluation.

The story of Sawyer’s disappearance began six days earlier. On Friday, July 11, he left home at 10 a.m. for a solo mountain biking trip near Trillium Lake, about 17 miles east of Rhododendron and 26 miles from Gresham. When he failed to return by nightfall, his family reported him missing. Around midnight, deputies found his blue Kia Soul parked on East Still Creek Road. His phone was inside.

What followed was one of the largest search efforts in the region this year. By Sunday, July 13, more than 70 search-and-rescue personnel had covered over 250 miles of rugged terrain using ATVs, motorcycles, drones, helicopters, and rope teams. Both the Clackamas and Hood River County Sheriff’s Offices deployed additional resources, including K9 units, search planes, and specialized teams from Clackamas County Search and Rescue, Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Hood River Crag Rats, Portland Mountain Rescue, and the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Posse.

Sawyer’s wife, Marci Donaldson, stayed at base camp throughout the ordeal, supported by friends and volunteers who combed the forest on foot. A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $15,000 to support her and the search.

“This community is holding her in our hearts and surrounding her and Ralph with light and endless prayers,” the campaign’s organizer wrote. After Sawyer’s return, the update was brief but powerful: “The will to live is strong.”

A Wife’s Account: “What I Know Now”

On July 19, Marci Donaldson shared a detailed update on GoFundMe, offering new insight into her husband’s survival and the choices he made that led to his days-long disappearance.

According to her statement, Ralph began his ride on Still Creek Road, then stashed his mountain bike at the Cool Creek trailhead on the downhill side of the road. He changed into hiking shoes and began hiking toward Devils Peak Lookout.

On his descent from the summit, about a mile down the trail and nearly out of his three-liter water supply, he spotted something shiny off the path and down an embankment. Thinking it might be part of a plane crash, he left the trail to investigate. It turned out to be a mylar balloon.

As he tried to return to the trail, he lost traction on the loose gravel slope. Recognizing that he couldn’t safely climb back up, he made the decision to slide down toward a creek, assuming it would eventually lead him back to Still Creek Road.

But the terrain became increasingly steep and treacherous. He did not fall, but had to control his descent by grabbing at vegetation. Exhausted and dehydrated, he reached the water and – despite knowing the risks – drank from the creek, hoping it was high enough in elevation to be safe.

Within two hours, he became violently ill. Marci wrote that he experienced “nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and vertigo so severe he was unable to move his head.” Ralph, who has a history of inner ear issues, recognized the severity of his condition and suspected the water was contaminated – likely with giardia.

He remained immobilized for what he estimates was at least two days. Although he could hear planes and helicopters overhead, the dense vegetation made it impossible to signal or find a clearing. The brush was so thick in places it covered the creek entirely.

Eventually, he was able to move again, possibly after his symptoms began to subside. From there, he began the agonizing trek down the creekbed. He remained weak and intermittently sick, but continued forward by keeping three points of contact at all times, navigating over and under massive downed trees. One tree was so large that he had to dig a hollow beneath it to pass through. His gloves protected his hands until the swelling made them unusable.

He carried only a winter hat, a knife, a compass, a lighter, leg and arm warmers, and a flashlight he never used, too exhausted and disoriented to even consider it. To insulate himself, he stuffed the warmers with dry moss. At night, he would stop to sleep before sunset. The mosquitos were relentless, biting him from his eyelids to his ankles.

Eventually, Ralph made it back to his stashed bike, placed it on his car, and drove home.

A Community Rejoices

Family friend Diane Brown, who was closely involved in the search, confirmed many of the account’s broad strokes in an earlier interview. She praised Sawyer’s determination.

“My understanding is basically he walked out through a lot of brush, incredibly ill during that time from drinking some of the water – there was no choice,” she said. “So he just step-by-step followed this… I don’t know the name of the creek, but he finally beat it back.”

“Somehow, he didn’t fall, but he ended up having to go down a very, very, very steep incline and ended up in a lot of brush,” she added. “There was no going up.”

Despite his condition, Brown said Sawyer still had his sense of humor. “He sounds… actually okay,” she said. “He still has a little bit of humor in there. My understanding is he’s really looking forward to shrimp fettuccine.”

When asked by a reporter if there could be a better ending than Sawyer walking out and driving himself home, Brown replied with a laugh:

 “Well, only if he’d never gotten lost in the first place.”

‘Time to Exhale’

Friends who joined the days-long search say they experienced a mix of fear and hope. “Of course we were scared,” said close friend Jennifer Burkhardt. “But we also had a lot of hope. We knew that he was strong and he could get through this.”

As Sawyer begins his recovery, the family is focused on healing. Marci has asked for privacy while they rest and recover.

“Time to exhale with relief,” the GoFundMe organizer wrote. “And celebrate LIFE.”