MISSING PERSON FOUND DECEASED
News Release from Lincoln Co. Sheriff’s Office
Posted on FlashAlert: July 13th, 2021 3:16 PM
On July 1, 2021 deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a call for a subject with dementia that had not been heard from since June 26, 2021. The missing person was Robert Donough of Dundee. The last contact with Robert was by his wife on the phone, and he was in Newport at the time.
Donough’s Cell phone was pinged on Hwy 20 just east of the west Junction of Toledo later that day. Donough’s vehicle, a red 2000 Ford Ranger pickup was the vehicle he was driving, so an attempt to locate for Donough and his vehicle was put out by the Newberg/Dundee police.
Three units from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office along with a Weyerhaeuser employee, started searching the areas off Highway 20 heading to the south in search of the red Ford Ranger and its occupant. They searched that day and nothing was found regarding the vehicle, and there was no further cell phone information that could be obtained to help give a location.
On July 3, mountain bikers came across the red Ford Ranger vehicle owned by Donough in the woods near Deer Creek Road just south of Highway 20 near Eddyville. The mountain bikers also came across a couple of articles belonging to Robert Donough. The mountain bikers conducted an internet search regarding the name with the articles found and learned the articles belonged to a missing person. The mountain bikers called Newberg/Dundee Police and reported the location of the vehicle.
Newberg/Dundee Police notified Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office who activated Search and Rescue at 6:30 PM and they searched until 3:30 AM with no luck due to heavy vegetation and areas that were too dangerous to search in after dark. Several clues were found during that search, and it was confirmed with his family that those items did belong to Donough.
Search resumed on July 4 at 10 AM and ran until 9 PM with no luck in locating Robert Donough, and no additional clues were located. Likely areas that it appeared that he may have taken gave no clues to his location.
On July 5 Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue requested help from canine teams in Lane County, Benton County, Yamhill County and Polk County to assist in the search for Donough. Eight dogs and their handler‘s along with support personnel and ground searchers arrived at the command post set up by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue on Harlan Road at mile post 13.5. Dog teams were strategically deployed into the area to help look for Donough however were unsuccessful in picking up on a track.
On July 10 Lincoln County Search and Rescue redeployed into the area with two dog teams and a handful of searchers to look at some of the areas that were needing extra attention from the previous search. After sending the dogs through the area and having them come up empty, they were released to return home with several searchers remaining in the field looking around at different roads and for any type of activity by wildlife.
At approximately 6:30 PM Lincoln County SAR Coordinator Bruce McGuire received a phone call from one of the search and rescue members stating that they had located what they believed to be Robert Donough on an abandoned logging Road just west of the initial search location. Search and Rescue members responded along with two Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office personnel to the scene.
A body was located on a logging road in the tall grass. It was confirmed by photo identification as Robert Donough. There were no signs of criminal activity. All indications show Donough died of natural causes.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue would like to thank searchers and dog teams from Lane County, Benton County, Yamhill County, and Polk County Search and Rescue for their efforts in helping to locate Robert Donough.
