Body found during search
By Terry Murry on Saturday, May 8th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
News release from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office:
The search for Deb Hendrichs in the Meacham area was concluded today at approximately 1pm after searchers notified Incident Command that a body had been found on the east side of I-84 south of Meacham near milepost 238. Early on in the search, K-9 teams located a wallet and other items matching those described in the search plan. The wallet contained identification belonging to Deborah Hendrichs. In accordance with the Incident Action Plan, a team of Law Enforcement officers was deployed to secure the scene, while drone and K-9 strike teams were reassigned to areas near where the items were located. Shortly afterward, the call came in that a body had been found by a K-9 team. At that time, all search teams were notified to return to Incident Command Post. Family members have been notified. Oregon State Police, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and other searchers responded to the scene for recovery of the body.
Thank you to all of the agencies and searchers involved in the search, including Oregon State Police, Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Union County Search and Rescue,Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, Jon Francis Foundation, Valley County Search and Rescue, Wallowa County Search and Rescue, Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Gilliam County Sheriff’s Office, Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Delmar Aerospace Corporation, Union Pacific Railroad and Oregon Department of Transportation. A special thank you to the Oregon Department of Transportation for providing the area for the Incident Command Center and to Knife River Construction for temporarily shutting down the Interstate construction in the area during the search.
This operation involved detailed planning and execution, which resulted in a successful end to help bring closure for the family and loved ones. We would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Deb Hendrichs. It has been our privilege to help bring her home.
Photo of some of the searchers provided by UCSO
