From a Curry County Sheriff's Office news release:

Tuesday August 30, 2022, at 4:40pm, the Curry County Sheriff’s Dispatch received a 911 call transfer from the Brookings Police Department regarding a subject who called in saying he was stuck on a cliff south of Lone Ranch Beach parking lot, just north of Brookings.  Sheriff’s Dispatch identified the caller as forty-one-year-old Anthony (Tony) Lohman of Brookings, who stated he walked about twenty minutes south on the beach and tried to climb up a cliff.  Lohman told dispatch he was not able to climb any higher and could not go back down.  Dispatch kept Lohman on the phone, assuring him that Search and Rescue would find and help him.

Dispatch sent deputies to the location to try and locate Lohman prior to SAR getting there.  Dispatch worked with Lohman by sending photos to help determine his exact location.  SAR arrived and after finding Lohman, began to put a plan in place to get him off the side of the cliff.  One SAR member deployed a drone and took video of the location and rescue.  The SAR member was able to communicate with Lohman over the radio speaker on the drone.

Dispatch had contacted the U.S. Coast Guard who dispatched a helicopter from North Bend, Or.   Due to the foggy weather when they arrived, they could not assist in the rescue of Lohman.  SAR stuck to their original rescue plan and was able to get above Lohman on the hog back ridge he was under.  Lohman was stuck about 200 feet from the top and about 90 feet from the rocks below.  Four SAR members risked their lives on the thin steep ridge to establish a tail hold by wrapping a 150’ section of rope around the top edge of the rock bluff.  A single rappeler was lowered to Lohman who was then able to attach a harness to Lohman and the both of them descended to the beach below.  

The rescue took about five hours, and it was dark by the time they got back to the Lone Ranch parking lot.  A total of eight SAR members were involved in the rescue and it is amazing how they were able to safely get Lowman off the ledge he was on and back to safety.  These men  and women who volunteer their time and experience to save lives is remarkable and I could not be prouder of them.

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