Searchers find hiker near Mt. Defiance

Rescuers from the Hood River Crag Rats, the 304th Rescue Squadron and Multnomah County Search and Rescue were able to extricate her from difficult terrain on Warren Creek, according to a Hood River County Sheriff’s Office press release Tuesday morning.

Drapiza was then able to walk with rescuers down to the trailhead, arriving at approximately 1:35 a.m.

The search went into the night Monday, with little indication of the whereabouts of Drapiza.

Then, at 6 p.m., she got through to 9-1-1 and rescuers were able to extract her GPS coordinate in the area of Lancaster Falls. Hood River Crag Rats devised a four-rope system, to lift Drapiza off the ledge, overlooking a sheer drop, and up to the cliff above.

“Crag Rats do 50 rescues a year and this is what we train to do, to work in awful conditions like we had Tuesday,” said Crag Rat Dr. Christopher VanTilburg, who also served as attending physician at the scene. He said the ledge was covered with brambles, mud and loose rocks, along with snow.

Drapiza was able to text a family member around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, advising that she had been injured. She was believed to be in the area of Warren Lake, which had approximately 1.5 feet of snow, with more falling Monday night. Van Tilburg said Drapiza was cold, but well-equipped with a “good outdoor coat, and boots.”

On Monday, the one moment of contact with Drapiza was a brief phone call to her husband saying she was in a gully and could hear a waterfall and “did not feel comfortable going further,” according to Deputy Joel Ives of the sheriff’s department.

He said a trail transects a number of gullies in the area, and searchers would use the clue to revise the search strategy.

As darkness fell, searchers were devising a plan for what to do overnight, including use of drone equipped with infrared from Mountain Wave, a Portland-based search organization. However, conditions were too snowy and foggy for the drone.

Drapiza had last been seen in the area of Warren Lake after departing alone from the Starvation Creek Trailhead off of I-84 at approximately 1 p.m. on Sunday. She provided landmarks later on Sunday, but further attempts to communicate or ping her phone were unsuccessful.

Search teams from Hood River Crag Rats, Pacific Northwest SAR, Portland Mountain Rescue, Multnomah County SAR Explorers and Washington County SAR Explorers were all involved. The staging area for the operation was established at Starvation Creek Trailhead.