Located Safe!!!! - Jackson Chandler and Bradley Nelson - October 2012 - Table Rock area, east of Molalla

Teen hikers still missing near Molalla; fresh crews join search

By Kimberly A.C. Wilson, The Oregonian
on October 29, 2012 at 6:55 AM, updated October 29, 2012 at 9:53 AM

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Sixteen-year-old Bradley Nelson, left, and 17-year-old Jackson Chandler, right, were last seen Saturday around 3:30 p.m., when they set off on a 90-minute drive from West Linn to hike in the Molalla River Corridor. Clackamas County Sheriff's Office

Clackamas County Search and Rescue teams searched through the night for two missing West Linn High School students who failed to return from a day hike in the densely forested Table Rock area east of Molalla.
Sixteen-year-old Bradley Nelson and 17-year-old Jackson Chandler were last seen Saturday around 3:30 p.m., when they set off on a 90-minute drive from West Linn to hike in the Molalla River Corridor.
The teens' parents alerted deputies when the boys failed to return home late Saturday, said Deputy Nate Thompson, a Clackamas County spokesperson. The search began soon after, with crews of more than 50 rescuers scouring the rugged landscape.
On Sunday, searchers located the hikers' gold 1999 Mazda pickup on a Forest Service road in the Lost Creek Meadows area, east of Table Rock. The discovery prompted crews to fan out from the vehicle to concentrate on an area crisscrossed with gravel roads, small streams, cliffs and the Table Rock fork of the Molalla River.
Fresh crews of searchers were expected between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday, Thompson said.

A National Guard helicopter passes over the Colton command post on its way to search for two missing West Linn teens who have not returned from a weekend day hike. Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian

Both teens are Boy Scouts who have faced more than 36 hours of mild daytime temperatures, winds and sometimes heavy rain -- factors that could work against the experienced hikers.
"It's a benefit that it's not that cold but if you're soaking wet and it's 60 degrees with wind blowing, it's not going to take much for hypothermia to set in," Thompson said.
Thompson said one of the fathers told deputies both boys are experienced hikers. It is unclear what gear they carried.
Loved ones set up a Facebook page to link friends and relatives with the latest updates on the search.
The sheriff's office asks that anyone with information regarding the search call the tip line at 503- 723-4949.

-- Kimberly A.C. Wilson