ONTARIO – A press release by Baker County Sheriff Office on Monday said the search continues for a missing Vancouver man near Farewell Bend State Park, located near the Idaho-Oregon border.
On May 20, 2023 at approximately 6:28 a.m., Baker County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a report of the missing camper. Friends of 40-year-old Lan Hung Nguyen, of Vancouver, WA, said he walked away from the campsite at approximately 10:00 p.m. the previous evening and hadn’t been seen since.
A BCSO marine deputy, patrol deputy, and search and rescue members were deployed and responded to the area. The camp was approximately .25 miles north of the main boat ramp at Farewell Bend State Park. Upon arrival, a search by boat was performed near the shoreline. Ground crews conducted a grid search of the hillside around the camp, which consisted of brushy, steep terrain and several shallow canyons. Nguyen’s fellow campers assisted with the ground search. K-9 Daisy and her handler joined the search combing the hillside and shoreline. Shoes that Nguyen was reported being last seen in were located just above the shoreline near the campsite.
A second boat and additional ground crews, including search and rescue air scent K9 Pepper and her handler, Ellen Bishop, were deployed in the afternoon to assist with the search. Deputies spoke with boaters and campers in the area but none reported seeing Nguyen.
It is believed that shortly after walking away from his campsite, Nguyen fell down the embankment and into the Snake River. Marine deputies will continue to patrol the waterway in an effort to locate Nguyen.
