Missing Dundee man found dead in Lincoln County

A missing Dundee resident, 74-year-old Robert Donough, who had not been heard from since June 26, was found dead Saturday, July 10, on a Lincoln County logging road, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

There were no signs of criminal activity, said deputy Bruce McGuire, the county's search and rescue coordinator.

In addition to Lincoln County, search and rescue teams from Benton, Lane, Polk and Yamhill counties joined in the search for Donough. The Newberg-Dundee Police Department also assisted.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office received a call Thursday, July 1 about a subject with dementia who had not been heard from since late June. The individual was identified as Donough. The last contact with him was by his wife on the phone, and he was in Newport at that time.

His cell phone was pinged that day on Highway 20 in the Toledo area. An attempt was made to locate the vehicle he was driving, a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup.

Lincoln County Sheriff's Office personnel and a Weyerhaeuser employee, started searching areas off Highway 20 toward the south for Donough and his vehicle. No sign of either was located the remainder of the day.

On July 3, mountain bikers discovered the vehicle in the woods south of Highway 20 in the Eddyville area. They also found possessions belonging to Donough.

They did an internet search regarding the name associated with the articles they found and learned the vehicle and possessions belonged to Donough.

They called Newberg-Dundee police to report what they had found.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office was notified and its search and rescue unit was activated about 6:30 p.m. that day. They searched until 3:30 a.m. July 4 and turned up no sign of Donough.

A search resumed at 10 a.m. and continued until 9 p.m. with no sign of him, and no additional clues were located.

On July 5, help was requested from multiple counties to search for Donough. Eight dogs and their handlers along with support personnel and ground searchers arrived at the command post set up by the the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office.

Dog teams were strategically deployed into the area to help look for him, but the search was unsuccessful.

Then, on July 10, rescuers redeployed into the area with two dog teams and a handful of searchers to look at some of the areas that required additional attention following the previous earch.

After sending the dogs through the area with no success, they were released. Several searchers, however, remained, looking on different roads and for any type of wildlife activity.

About 6:30 p.m. that evening, McGuire received a call from a search and rescuer reporting the body of whom was believed to be Donough was found on an abandoned logging road. Law enforcement personnel responded to the scene.

He was found in a tall, grassy area his identification was confirmed with the help of a photograph.