Crews in Baker County, Ore., search for missing Vancouver manFree

Crews in Baker County, Ore., are searching for a missing Vancouver man they believe fell down an embankment near a campsite and into the Snake River on Friday night.

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday to a report of a missing camper near Farewell Bend State Park.

Friends of Lan Hung Nguyen, 40, said he walked away from their campsite at about 10 p.m. Friday and hadn’t returned, according to a Monday sheriff’s office news release.

Patrol and marine deputies, along with search and rescue crews, responded to the area, which was about a quarter-mile north of the main boat ramp at the state park. A boat crew searched the shoreline of the Snake River, and other crews, including Nguyen’s friends, searched the nearby hillside. A K-9 and deputy joined the searches on the hillside and the shoreline. The sheriff’s office said the steep hillside had brushy terrain and several shallow canyons.

Crews found shoes that reportedly belonged to Nguyen just above the shoreline near the campsite, according to the news release.

Another boat and K-9 unit, along with more ground search crews responded in the afternoon to help. Deputies also spoke with nearby campers and boaters, but no one reported seeing Nguyen.

Investigators believe shortly after he walked away from the campsite, Nguyen fell down an embankment and into the Snake River. The sheriff’s office said Tuesday deputies will continue to search the waterway daily to try to find Nguyen.

Anyone in that area who may have seen Nguyen is asked to contact the Baker County Sheriff’s Office at 541-523-6415.