By NOELLE CROMBIE/The Oregonian/OregonLive
A volunteer diver who this year helped recover a child’s body in the Siletz River said Deschutes County authorities threatened to arrest him Tuesday if he entered the water to help search for a man who went over Dillon Falls last weekend.
Juan Heredia, 53, of Stockton, Calif., said he learned about the search effort through Facebook and decided to help with the effort.
The missing man is in his 30s and was visiting Oregon from out of state, according to his brother. He has not been identified by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office.
Six people were floating the Deschutes River on Saturday when they missed the chance to exit the river before Dillon Falls, a Class 5 rapid, according to the sheriff’s office.
Three were rescued. The bodies of two women, Amanda Loyd, 40, of Rockwall, Texas, and Lindsay Bashan, 33, of Parkland, Florida, were recovered. One person remains missing.
Heredia said he arrived late Monday and headed to the falls early Tuesday with a plan to enter the water near the base and scour the 3-mile stretch extending from the falls. He said he saw a sheriff’s office boat in the water and called over to let officials know of his plan.
“And they came closer,” he said, “and said ‘You’re going to dive? If you touch that water, we’re gonna arrest you.’”
He said the official directed Heredia to search the area at the top of the falls.
“Why do you want me to dive in the other area when you know that they are not going to be there? I know they’re going to be here,” he said he told the deputy.
Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Dustin Miller on Wednesday confirmed Heredia interacted with search and rescue personnel, although he did not know who.
“My understanding was they did not want them in the middle of their search grid where they were searching specifically and offered to coordinate with him on how they could utilize his resources and coordinate together,” Miller said. “My understanding is they gave him an area in which he could search and he did not want to search that area and therefore he left.”
Miller said he did not know whether the sheriff’s office official threatened Heredia with arrest. He said about 120 people, including volunteers, continue to comb the river for the missing man.
On Wednesday afternoon, the agency issued a statement on behalf of the mother of the man who is missing, saying that she supports Deschutes County authorities’ efforts and that her family is “incredibly grateful for their support, professionalism, and unwavering commitment.”
The woman, who was not identified, asked that Heredia stop commenting on the search.
Heredia said he left Deschutes County within the hour and began the drive back to California. Late Tuesday, he posted about his experience on Facebook, saying he won’t take part in future recovery efforts unless he receives a written request from law enforcement.
“I will no longer place myself where I’m not respected or wanted,” he wrote.
Emily Lundborg, 37, of Bend said she was disappointed to learn of Heredia’s account of his interaction with law enforcement.
“I just think it was a horrible way to go about things,” Lundborg said.
She said she arranged for Heredia to stay in one of the RVs she rents through her business, RVan Adventures. She said she called the sheriff’s office around noon Monday and spoke with Deputy Nathan Witherspoon to get permission to park in the Dillon Falls lot and to let officials know Heredia would be joining the recovery effort.
She said the official she spoke with expressed no objections.
“They knew he was coming and if they had any hesitation or reservation, they should have intervened at that point,” Lundborg said.
In March, Heredia drove about 12 hours from his home to Lincoln County to help locate 2-year-old Dane Paulsen, who had gone missing while playing in the front yard of the family’s home along the Siletz River.
Heredia, a mortgage lender with a record of successful water recoveries, located the boy’s body after about two hours in the water. The boy was about 3 miles south of where he had likely entered the water.
— Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184 or ncrombie@oregonian.com.
