CCSO's Search and Rescue team assists 2 missing hikers

Monday, July 1st, 2024 at about 9:54pm, the Curry County Sheriff’s Dispatch 911 center received a 911 call from Jason Gaudio, reporting that his friend, twenty-three-year-old Rayse Kawamoto, from Hawaii, was missing after walking down the trail to Natural Bridges, about twelve miles north of Brookings.

Gaudio reported that there was another male subject they had met on the same trail and that he has not returned to the parking lot as well. That subject was later identified as twenty-seven-year-old Austin Dewart from Pasadena, California. Gaudio said he was worried about his friend because it was now dark and that they were unfamiliar with the area.

Dispatch relayed the information to the Oregon State Police, who asked for assistance from the Curry County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team. An OSP State Trooper responded to the Natural Bridge area and contacted Gaudio. SAR members, Steve Diccico, Will Tucker, Jesse Flovin, Tim Hawkins and Craig Rasbury arrived along with Sergeant Jared Gray and myself.

The SAR team geared up and started down the trail in the dark. About midnight, the SAR team located both Kawamato and Dewart on the trail and guided them back to the parking lot where their vehicles were parked.

The Curry County Sheriff’s Office reminds all those who visit the area of Natural Bridges, and other trails along the coast, of the dangers of hiking those trails. Though it was not their intention to hike after dark, they found themselves in that situation and the outcome could have been tragic.