SISTERS, OR -- It's been 10 days since anyone's seen 33-year-old Ben Hendrickson, a Sisters man who disappeared August 12 while camping at Suttle Lake with friends. His mother Sherri believes the search effort has been impacted by all of the extra people in the area for the eclipse. She tells KBND News, "It hampered the search enough that we cannot bring in a search dog because of the timeframe that has already gone by and the amount of people. That should've been done day one, but the search was just primarily water at that time." She says there was an extensive effort early on, "There was sonar boats out on Suttle Lake, and divers, and cadaver dogs. And that has come up with nothing. There are really no clues other than his kayak, his oar, and his baseball hat [found] on the bank."
Ben is 6'1", 180 pounds, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins says, "We've suspended the search for him because we've exhausted all our leads and done everything we can to this point. That's a tough deal that we have to make a decision - as much time and resources as we spent on that - we are just devestated that we can't find him." He says deputies and private individuals are still searching on their own time. "It's heart-wrenching for me because I can't even imagine what they're going through. Even though we've suspended the formal search, we encourage other people in the area, that as they camp, that if they see anything suspicious, please let us know." Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
Hendrickson's mom says all she wants is for him to come home.
9 a.m. UPDATE: Sheriff Jim Adkins confirms Hendrickson's body was recovered from the water near Suttle Lake Lodge just after 8:30 Tuesday morning. He says it appears the man drowned.
