'Very Weird' Case on N. Oregon Coast: Is Someone Missing at Oceanside After Cries for Help?

Published 5/28/24 at 6:45 p.m.
By Andre' Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Tillamook, Oregon) – Little Oceanside has a big mystery on its hands, as local authorities are trying to figure out if anyone is really missing in the surf after someone reported hearing cries for help from the precarious rocks at Maxwell Point. They've even found a pair of bicycles that appeared to be abandoned at the beach access. Yet after hours of searching by various responders, nothing has turned up. (Photo courtesy Netarts-Oceanside District: detail from original photo, showing US Coast Guard helicopter during search)

It all started around 4 a.m. on Monday morning at the Oceanside firehouse. Netarts-Oceanside Fire District said they had some people come in and report hearing cries for help coming from around the rocky point at Maxwell Point, the small headland that juts out from the north Oregon coast town.

Not long after, fire district volunteers discovered a pair of bikes up against the fence at the beach access, still unattended to as of later Monday afternoon. Like one of those True Crime pieces, it was further evidence a person or two may be missing.

Netarts-Oceanside fire chief Jeff McBrayer told Oregon Coast Beach Connection Monday evening it's all “very weird.”

Netarts-Oceanside Fire District: responders placed yellow tape and notes for the bike owners to call them

They are currently asking the public if anyone that had been in the Oceanside area that day and saw anything to report it to Tillamook County Sheriff's Office at 503-815-1911.

“Someone heard calls for help coming from the rocks,” McBrayer said. “We don't know exactly where: they just said between Oceanside's beach and Tunnel Beach. From the rocks, is all we know. We don't have an exact pinpoint.”

Responders then left messages on the bikes.

Netarts-Oceanside Fire District: the search included Coast Guard helicopters and various agencies

“We wrapped yellow tape around them, left a note to the owners to call in if these were their bikes,” McBrayer told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “We don't know if they were on the rocks or in the water. They just said the point.”

Fire volunteers conducted their own search, arriving on scene with their rescue truck and soon other authorities arrived.

“We conducted a search of Tunnel Beach, Oceanside Beach and the tunnel,” McBrayer said.

The US Coast Guard deployed a search vessel from Garibaldi and a helicopter from Astoria.

“They searched for about two hours,” McBrayer said.

The US Coast Guard also searched Lost Boy Beach, a hidden section of Oceanside between Tunnel Beach and Short Beach which has had a history of presenting its own dangers.

Photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection showing the point as it usually is: under water.

He noted currents were moving away from this general area.

“Sincere thanks to the Volunteers of Netarts-Oceanside Fire District, Garibaldi Fire Rescue, Tillamook County 911, U.S. Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay and US Coast Guard Air Station Astoria for their assistance in search operations today,” the district said on social.

Tunnel Beach is a place known for its dangers. It's a thin slice of a beach that is right up against a soaring cliff with only about 50 feet of beach at the most. The tip of Maxwell Point sometimes gets wayward explorers and people often figure out rather quickly this is a dangerous spot when they get splashed by waves. It is never a good idea to hop onto those rocks.

The tunnel itself has trapped people in the past: sometimes it's covered by a landslide and visitors on the other side needing rescue. One such incident in the '90s included a man who managed to climb his way up the cliff and get help.

In late 2020, one group of people were caught behind a landslide and required rescue. Famed Tunnel on Oregon Coast Covered by Rockslide; Some Needed Rescue. MORE PHOTOW BELOW:

Hotels in Oceanside - Where to eat - Oceanside Maps and Virtual Tours

courtesy Netarts-Oceanside Fire District

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