Stuck in the snow.

Man found dead in truck after getting stuck in snow, spending nearly 70 days in remote Linn County

Published: Friday, May 13, 2011, 2:20 PM     Updated: Friday, May 13, 2011, 6:15 PM

 By The Oregonian 

A 68-year-old man died in a sleeping bag in his truck after he got stuck in the snow while camping in February and kept a log of nearly 70 days spent apparently stranded in east Linn County's high country, authorities said today. 

View full sizeLinn County sheriffJerry McDonald

A U.S. Forest Service crew surveying roads discovered the body of Jerry William McDonald on Thursday in the back of his 1997 GMC pickup with a canopy. The truck was on Forest Service Road 517, about three miles from Oregon 22 and about four miles from Marion Forks. 

 McDonald's truck registration listed an address in Unity, but he had no permanent home, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said in a news release. He was estranged from his family and hadn't been reported missing. 

A homemade calendar in the truck indicates McDonald arrived in the remote mountain area on Feb. 7, probably to camp, sheriff's officials said. A later entry says: "Trapped, snowed in on 14th." His final entry came April 15 -- 68 days since the first entry -- and said only how long he'd been there.

 Snow would have made the mountain spot impassable, Mueller said. 

It appears McDonald tried to get his truck unstuck by using a jack and placing rocks under the tires for traction, he said. The truck had a quarter tank of gas, chains on all four tires and was drivable. 

View full sizeLinn County sheriffJerry McDonald's last entries.

McDonald had built a small fire, had warm clothing, water collected in buckets and extra fuel for the pickup, but no food in the truck, a cell phone or a GPS, sheriff's officials said. 

  Detectives found no indication that McDonald tried to walk out of the area. They found $5,000 in the truck and no signs of foul play. 

The preliminary investigation and autopsy indicate that McDonald died of starvation and/or hypothermia.

-- The Oregonian

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