BAKER COUNTY, Ore. — A man who apparently walked away from his campsite the night of May 19 near Farewell Bend southeast of Huntington, Oregon, was found dead Thursday, the Baker County Sheriff's Office said Friday morning.
An Idaho Power employee called Baker County dispatch just before 3 p.m. Thursday to report seeing a body in the water near Steck Park, which is located along the Snake River in Weiser, just downstream from Farewell Bend. Deputies from Baker County and Malheur County who were patrolling the waterway went to the area and confirmed that the body was that of Lan Hung Nguyen, a 40-year-old man from Vancouver, Washington.
The deputies had been patrolling the river near Huntington as part of the search for Nguyen, who hadn't been seen since about 10 p.m. on May 19. After friends called the sheriff's office early the morning of May 20, Baker County Sheriff's Office personnel and Search and Rescue volunteers, along with the man's family and friends, began a thorough ground search on the hillside and shoreline around the campsite, and had boats on the Snake River looking for him, too. Someone found Nguyen's shoes just above the shoreline near the campsite, but searchers were not able to locate Nguyen.
In a news release Friday morning, the Baker County Sheriff's Office said Sheriff Travis Ash "offers his sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Nguyen during this tragic time."
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