At about 2:30am, Wednesday January 27th, Shawn and BJ Farris of Brookings, Or., notified the Curry County Sheriff’s Office that two of their sons along with two other subjects had gone up in the woods in the Wildhorse area the day prior in a red pick-up and had not returned.
It was reported that thirty year old Sean Farris, twenty-eight year old Aaron Farris, twenty-nine year old Shawn Miller and twenty-one year old Bjorn Schaller had plans to go up in the woods to make a camp fire and cook some food.
According to Shawn Farris, the four individuals, one of who is disabled had not returned by midnight and he was concerned due to the bad weather. Shawn Farris attempted to locate the missing party himself but got stuck in snow about fifteen miles up Hunter Creek and was not able to go any further.
At about 4:00am, Search and Rescue coordinators Deputy Scherbarth and Deputy Gray along with several Search and Rescue members responded to the area in bad weather and found that the winter storm had dumped heavy snow in the higher elevations overnight, making it very difficult to traverse.
Using a side by side with snow tracks to continue the search higher into the mountainous area, Deputies and Search and Rescue members were able to locate the red pick-up on the Wildhorse Road stuck in the snow. Deputies contacted Sean and Arron Farris who had stayed with the pick-up overnight and learned that Schaller and Miller had left the vehicle on foot an hour earlier in an attempt to hike out.
Deputies were able to take both Aaron and Sean Farris back down out of the area where they were picked up by their father. The Sheriff’s Office ATV side by side with tracks had struggled in the deep snow up to that point and additional equipment was needed to be able to search areas where both Schaller and Miller may have gone.
With snow levels in that area was three to four feet deep with deeper snow drifts, both Josephine and Jackson counties were contacted for the use of a Sno Cat, but they were unavailable.
After Sheriff Ward contacted the Tucker Sno Cat Company from Medford who had agreed to send a Sno Cat over to help in the search, Deputies and Search and Rescue members located both Schaller and Miller walking in deep snow a couple miles away from their vehicle on Wildhorse Road at about 2:00pm.
Search and Rescue members had to cut several trees out of the road for access before Search and Rescue members could transpored them from where they were found about ten miles out of the snow to an awaiting ambulance.
Schaller and Miller were both wet and cold and according to medics they were showing signs of hypothermia. They refused medical service and were given a ride by friends out of the area.
