Douglas County Sheriff's deputies say a missing Portland man may have been hitchhiking early Saturday morning on Yocum Road in the Southern Oregon town of Riddle. Deputies say Mark Bosworth, a volunteer with the Cycle Oregon event, has been missing since Friday night, and may be suffering from a medical condition that causes confusion. Bosworth is described as six feet tall, weighing 180 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes, last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, black pants and a hat.
Here's the official news release:
Mark Bosworth, a Principal GIS Specialist in Metro's Data Resource Center was reported missing on Saturday, Sept. 17. He was working as a staff member for Cycle Oregon and assisting with the event in Riddle, in Douglas County. He was last seen on at about 11:15 pm on Friday, Sept. 16, near Riddle City Hall.
He has recently been suffering from headaches. Bosworth is 54 years old. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds. He has gray hair and blue eyes.
If you have any information about his location, please call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 541-440-4471.
A Missing Person notice prepared by the Douglas County Sherriff's Office can be downloaded here: http://library.oregonmetro.gov/editor/bosworth_2.pdf
Feel free to print this document and post it in locations where people who may have encountered Mark might see it.
Bosworth, a volunteer for Cycle Oregon, was last seen in the town of Riddle, in Douglas County, at about 11 p.m. on Sept. 16. Friends noticed his tent was empty the following morning.
His coworkers describe him as a survivor, an inspiration after two fights with cancer in the past years.
"The thing that most people think of with Mark, when you think of the past few years is how courageous he was with bouts of cancer," said Paul Couey, Metro's GIS manager. "He showed a lot of optimism through that, when a lot of us were feeling pretty dark."
That optimism, Couey said, is an inspiration to Metro staff today.
"At this stage, I think it's a lot less dire than that (cancer) was, and I'm trying to encourage people to follow the example he set and remain as hopeful as he can," Couey said.
At Metro, Bosworth provides analysis and mapping for planning and transportation clients. He has also been an adjunct professor at Portland State University.
Couey said Bosworth's generosity has led to an outpouring of support, both outside and inside the agency.
Some GIS analysts, Couey said, "want to study a map of where he is and figure something out, but feel helpless this far away. Still, there's certainly reason for optimism."
