Searchers seek missing Analy High School graduate in Oregon wilderness

Marion County, Oregon, sheriff’s officials searched until late Monday for Analy High School graduate Riley Zickel, 21, who remains missing in a wilderness area southeast of Portland.

His parents, Robin Zickel and Erin Riley of the North Bay, flew to Portland Sunday and traveled to the search base camp. Zickel’s father, Robin Zickel, who has been posting updates on Facebook, wrote Monday evening that he hoped to find his son Tuesday after speaking with hikers who claimed to have seen the 21-year-old on Sunday about 16 miles from the trailhead.

Robin Zickel also posted a blurry photograph taken by another hiker of a man standing beside an orange tent. The hiker took the photo because he “just happened to think it was odd someone was camping” where the person was camping, Robin Zickel wrote.

After showing the image to five or six people who know Riley Zickel and his gear, they all seemed to believe it was him.

“I really think my boy is coming home,” Robin Zickel wrote.

The extensive search for the missing backpacker included 62 people from law enforcement agencies as well as a helicopter from the Civil Air Patrol and a plane from the Army National Guard, said Lt. Chris Baldridge with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Zickel had gone into the Mount Jefferson Wilderness east of Salem on Wednesday for an overnight hike, planning to return Thursday, and had further plans into the weekend. Zickel is an experienced hiker and carried proper equipment and food, officials said.

On Saturday, when he still hadn’t returned, his parents contacted authorities, launching a search. Deputies found Zickel’s vehicle near a trailhead.

In a phone interview early Monday, Baldridge noted the favorable weather conditions. Morning temperatures in the area have stayed above freezing.

“We’re hoping he’s OK,” he said.

Searchers have been hiking several trails in the area and a four-member specialized mountain rescue team from Corvallis is climbing Mount Jefferson in case Zickel’s path took him toward the 10,495-foot summit.

The wilderness area southeast of Portland is a popular recreation area offering all levels of hiking. Deputies are called there regularly for searches throughout the year, Baldridge said.

While there are many hikers in the area, there has been only one confirmed sighting of the missing man, and that came on Wednesday, Baldridge said. “Nothing since then.”

Zickel grew up in Sebastopol, attending Sunridge charter school and Analy High. He graduated from the Sebastopol high school in 2013 and was known as a very talented bass player in the school’s award-winning orchestra. He left Sebastopol to attend college in Oregon and has been living in the Portland area.

“He’s just a dear young man, just a sweetheart. We’re all praying for him,” said Carey Caccavo Wheaton, a former Analy parent and Sebastopol resident who has known Riley over the years and was alerting local residents about the missing man.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport. You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 707-521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.