Update:
On Wednesday, Feb. 21, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said the Lane County Medical Examiner identified the remains found Feb. 11 as those of Dustin Jay Steyding of Yachats.
Remains believed to be those of a 45-year-old Yachats man missing since July have been found and recovered near Cummins Peak, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday.
The remains are believed to be those of Dustin Steyding, who was the subject of three official searches and more by his friends and family last September in the Keller Creek Road area on the east side of Cape Perpetua.
The remains were taken to the Lane County medical examiner’s office, which will confirm their identity.
The remains were found Sunday, Feb. 11 by two Benton County Sheriff’s search and rescue volunteers hiking near Cummins Peak southeast of Yachats. The volunteers had previously been involved in search efforts in the area for Steyding, said Lane County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tim Wallace.
“They were aware that they might find something,” Wallace said.
Wallace said the Lane County deputies and search and rescue volunteers then spent 10 hours using a rope system to recover the remains 800 feet down an extremely steep hillside thick with vegetation.
Wallace said Steyding’s relatives were notified that the remains could be his, but official word will have to come from the medical examiner.
Steyding was helping remodel a house in Yachats when he left mid-day July 22 and didn’t return. After weeks of trying to reach him, a brother who lives in Mapleton filed a missing persons report Aug. 25 with the Lincoln County sheriff.
On Sept. 4, a Yachats friend who was driving Forest Service roads looking for Steyding found his pickup about a mile up Keller Creek Road, south of the intersection of Yachats River Road and Forest Service Road 5590 in Lane County. That Forest Service road connects to Cummins Peak Road, above where the remains were found Sunday.
Lane County search and rescue coordinated searches three different times in September, twice bringing in dogs trained to find human remains.
Steyding’s keys and cell phone were in the truck when it was found, authorities said in September and there was no sign of a struggle, break-in or that he jumped into another vehicle.
Stedying liked to surf near Yachats and his friends and family held a “paddle out” and gathering in the fall in his honor.
— YachatsNews
I had a nice chat with Dustin the day I met him in the Drift Inn in May. We discussed his work on the home and where to find chantrelle mushrooms near Cummins Creek. I was really sad when I heard he went missing because he was really kind. Spoke with me for over 45 minutes and mostly we discussed forestry and the possible fire danger in the overgrown treed and coastal area around Yachats. He gave me app information so that I could check where forest fires had been put out with chemicals that would make mushroom foraging unsafe. It was a nice, sober chat and I would’ve liked to be his friend.
Thanks, Alison, for sharing that with the community. Everyone in this area hoped that Dustin would be found alive, of course. But memories like this keep him in our hearts.
I spent a season with Dustin working on an interagency hotshot crew in Mew Mexico. These crews are full of different personalities and I was drawn to Dustin because he was a kind and gentle soul. He wasn’t your typical hotshot in the sense that he didn’t approach his position with ego or bravado. He was just a hard and capable worker. I enjoyed our time making coffee together in the morning before the start of our shift. Guy would have given you the shirt off his back if you would’ve asked him. RIP
Dustin (Dusty) touched many. His simple charm and willingness to help others whenever called upon was a pleasant experience. I was looking forward to many more encounters. REST IN PEACE my July 4th Huckleberry. Such a brief encounter. Now, my most memorable. THANK YOU, SIr.