This might have been the luckiest day in his entire 92 years of life.
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Elderly Oregon Man Survives Freezing Overnight Temps in the Mountains
The Oregon State Police had an unlikely happy ending after getting reports that a 92-year-old man, now identified as Larry Hendrickson, was overdue and late returning from a drive in the mountains. Hendrickson went missing on November 7, 2023, after receiving a call that the man had not arrived and the caller was concerned for the man’s wellbeing. The caller relayed to State Police that Hendrickson was expected to be driving westbound on Interstate 84 near Baker County. Troopers went to look for the 92-year-old man in the described area. The next morning, they found his vehicle abandoned near West Airport Lane and knew they were close to finding him.
Troopers Found the Man Down an Embankment
After finding the man’s abandoned car, an OSP trooper and another officer from the Baker City Police Department found the missing man down an embankment a short distance away. The elderly man had slipped and fallen down the embankment off the side of the road and could not climb back up. When police found Hendrickson, he was still at the bottom of the embankment covered in vegetation, but alive. Oregon State Troopers report that the man was conscious and breathing when they located him after surviving the evening in sub-zero temperatures alone in the elements. The police treated the man with first aid until paramedics arrived and transported Hendrickson to a local hospital. Captain Kyle Kennedy with the Oregon State Police said in a statement, “We are grateful for this positive outcome. Cold weather exposure can be life-threatening and another night in these conditions may have been fatal.”