YACHATS — The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in locating a 45-year-old Yachats man who has been missing for more than seven weeks.
Deputies in Lincoln and Lane counties have been searching for Dustin Steyding of Yachats, who hasn’t been seen since he left work on July 22.
In a news release Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said Steyding is in good physical condition, having worked as a Forest Service Hotshot firefighter in New Mexico. He’s also very experienced in the woods and commonly goes out for hikes to stay in shape, deputies said.
Stedying was helping remodel a house in Yachats when he left mid-day July 22 and didn’t return. After weeks of trying to reach him, a brother who lives in Mapleton filed a missing persons report Aug. 25 with the Lincoln County sheriff. Without the means to locate him after he was reported missing, deputies entered Steyding as a missing person in a national database.
On Monday, Steyding’s family called the sheriff’s office after they located his vehicle on Keller Creek Road, south of the intersection of Yachats River Road and Forest Service Road 5590 in Lane County.
Deputies inspected the vehicle, determined it had been there for some time but were unable to determine Steyding’s direction of travel.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team searched the area Tuesday and Wednesday, but came up with no clues to Steyding’s whereabouts, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information on Steyding’s whereabouts call them at 541-265-0777 and reference case number 23S-07321.