Photos of the rescue provided by the Curry County Sheriff's Office.

Curry County Sheriff's Office:

Saturday April 3, 2021 at about 11:25 a.m., the Curry County Sheriff’s dispatch received a 911 call from Stephanie Riddle reporting that her 74-year-old husband was missing from their residence on Chanterelle Lane north of Gold Beach. 

Riddle stated that her husband Charles had been suffering from medical conditions and she had not seen him since 9:30 a.m. Curry County Deputies and SAR members responded to the residence and began searching the residence, the property and the heavily wooded area. 

A K-9 deputy and his certified K-9 searched around the residence and alerted in an area between the residence and Highway 101 but were not able to find Charles in that area. A SAR member deployed drone while other SAR members searched the beach below the residence. 

A total of about 20 searchers including SAR members and deputies continued to search for Charles throughout the day. An incident command was set up at Geisel Monument State Park to conduct planning and operations.

At about 5:20 p.m., approximately eight hours since Charles had gone missing, SAR members located Charles about a quarter-mile from his residence. 

Charles was lying on his back tangled up in some brush unable to move and showed signs of hypothermia. SAR members were able to carry Charles to the highway where he was transported to Curry General Hospital by Cal Ore Life Flight Ambulance. Stephanie Riddle was then notified that Charles had been found.

Our entire team from our Dispatch Deputies, Patrol Deputies, K-9 Team and our Search and Rescue Team did an outstanding job in the successful search for Charles Riddle. They saved his life and brought a husband and father back to his family.  I couldn’t be more prouder of our team.  They don’t look for recognition, they do what they do “so others may live.”

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