March 24, 2022 — Late Wednesday afternoon, at approximately 4:55 p.m., authorities received notification that a three-year-old girl in the South Jetty Dunes area near Parking Lot #6 had wandered off and had been missing for approximately 30 minutes.

Weather in the area was cool with a light mist. Western Lane Ambulance, Siuslaw Valley Fire & Rescue, Lane County Sheriff's Office, US Coast Guard, and Florence Police Department immediately responded to the area to begin a search.

Rescuers on ATVs and on foot, along with a USCG helicopter, began a search along a one mile section of the South Jetty area.

As responders questioned citizens in the area some began helping in the search for the missing child.

After hearing of the lost child, Julie Lyman of Lake Oswego, located the child unharmed and in good condition along the foredunes between the ocean and the Siuslaw River at approximately 5:59 p.m.

Emergency crews transported Lyman and the child to the command post for further medical evaluations and reuniting the child with her parents. The child was uninjured and in good spirits and did not require transport to the hospital. As emergency responders were notified by radio that the child had been found she could be heard in the background happily discussing her big adventure.

According to Western Lane Fire and EMS Operations Chief Matt House “we have worked very hard over the last few years to build a cohesiveness among emergency responders which was very evident in the quick and seamless interaction of all of the groups who responded for the search. We are very grateful to all the citizens in the area who assisted us in quickly finding the child.”

Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue provides an all-hazards emergency response to 18,585 people over 98 square miles. Western Lane Ambulance District provides emergency medical service (EMS) to 20,923 people over 564 square miles. Together, our agencies include full-time, part-time and volunteer personnel that respond to an average of 4,500 calls per year.