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Missing fisherman survives in Oregon wilderness for more than 2 weeks

Harry Burleigh, 69, failed to return from a camping and fishing trip in Umpqua National Forest on May 6. He was found Sunday.
Image: Jackson County Searchers exit a Brim Aviation helicopter after finding Harry Burleigh
Jackson County Searchers exit a Brim Aviation helicopter after finding Harry Burleigh.Douglas Co. Sheriff's Office

An Oregon man who was missing in the wilderness for more than two weeks was found alive at a shelter, officials said.

Harry Burleigh, 69, failed to return from a camping and fishing trip in Umpqua National Forest on May 6 as planned and was reported missing by his wife the next day, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

Searchers found his vehicle at a trailhead by Twin Lakes but didn't find any other signs until May 16 when they discovered a makeshift shelter.

In it? A tackle box, but no Burleigh.

On Sunday, 17 days after he was last seen, afternoon searchers found another shelter. They called out, and Burleigh responded, the sheriff's office said.

"This was the outcome we all have been looking for in this case," sheriff's Sgt. Brad O'Dell said in a statement Sunday. "It is because of our determined Search and Rescue Teams and the partnerships we have with other SAR teams from around the state, that Mr. Burleigh has been reunited with his family."

Burleigh was walking and complained of minor pain, but in stable condition, the sheriff's office said. He was flown to a hospital for evaluation.

Before he went missing, Burleigh filled out a form at the trailhead. It is believed he walked to the lakes to go fishing before going home, the sheriff's office has said.

The Umpqua National Forest covers more than 983,000 acres, or more than 1,500 square miles, east of Roseburg, where Burleigh lives.