A 25-year-old managed to survive 5 days in the Oregon wilderness. He went missing after going on a rafting trip. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending in the fact that the Coast Guard was able to locate him.
The Josephine County Sheriff's Office confirmed they were able to locate Gabriel Vaughn. Vaughn went missing after taking a rafting trip along the Illinois River. He had been traveling with a group but became separated after a disagreement. Vaugh, according to his parents, jumped from his raft and swam to shore.
Vaughn planned to hike out of there. "From there, we don't know exactly how things progressed," his dad, Henry, told the outlet. Search and rescue killed off a multi-day search for the missing rafter. Vaughn's parents say that he was experienced at rafting. "If he is out in the wilderness, he knows his chance of getting rescued increases if he leaves signs of where he's been and the direction he's going," his father said.
Rafting Trip
Ultimately, Vaughn was found "approximately 2 miles downstream from where he was last seen." Vaughn will undergo both "extensive medical evaluation and treatment" for his injuries.
Police confirmed, "Gabriel has been located safely. A private party that has been coordinating with Josephine County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and the Coast Guard found Gabriel approximately 2 miles downstream from where he was last seen. The Coast Guard is currently working on an extraction plan to get Gabriel to an area hospital."
His parents launched a GoFundMe to help cover costs.
"Henry and Jennifer Vaughn, Gabriel's parents, immediately traveled from Tennessee to Oregon to assist with search coordination," the statement read in part.
"While they are overjoyed that their son is alive, they recognize that his resilience and wilderness training helped sustain him, and that the tireless work of the search teams ultimately saved his life," the statement added. "Although the search phase has concluded, Gabriel's long road to medical recovery is just beginning."
