Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies rescued a man stranded on a ledge high above the Kalama River with his dog Sunday.
Deputies responded to reports of a person who was stranded on a ledge near Fallert Road around 12:52 p.m. They heard 44-year-old Nathan Mueller yelling for help in a densely forested area and found him on the ledge with his bloodhound. Mueller was in the area searching for the dog.
Next to the ledge was a drop-off of around 100 to 150 feet, the sheriff’s office said.
Steep terrain and slick mud in the area made the rescue difficult, the sheriff’s office said. Mueller could have fallen, and he was at risk of hypothermia due to the rainy cold weather.
Deputies James Doyle and Landen Jones, both military veterans, prepared to rappel down to the ledge. Doyle made it to Mueller and his dog after scrambling down an overgrown landslide. He used a makeshift harness to get the “uncooperative” dog to safer ground, the sheriff’s office wrote in its press release.
With the help of fire crews they were able to rescue them from the ledge unharmed “despite a series of near falls,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office commends the efforts of Deputy James Doyle and Deputy Landen Jones,” the sheriff’s office said.
– Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
