CCSO release – FINAL UPDATE 10/08/18 @8:30 am – The Coos County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue is saddened to share we closed the mission on Sunday after finding Dr. Richard Allen Ellerby deceased. At about 10:50 on Sunday morning a search team from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office located the body of Dr. Ellerby in a wooded area approximately 600 yards from his home on West Catching Road. The Coos County Medical Examiner’s Office was called to the scene and the preliminary cause of Dr. Ellerby’s death is hypothermia. Most people think of hypothermia being when the weather is extremely cold. However, in many circumstances each person is different and the past week we have seen temperatures dipping into the 40’s at night in places. Coupled with the heavy dew, fog and rain these factors contribute to lowering the body’s core temperature. Dr. Ellerby was wearing a pair of sweatpants, a blue t shirt, socks and loafers when he went missing and as he was found. This is inadequate to keep the core temperature up in the human body. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue was assisted throughout the weekend from search and rescue volunteers from the Sheriff’s office’s of Lane County, Douglas County, Jackson County, Josephine County, Curry County, and Del Norte County. Additionally volunteers from the Sumner Fire Department, Lakeside Fire Department, Coos Forest Protection Association as well as our own local search and rescue members and neighborhood volunteers. Other local agencies such as the Salvation Army, the Coos and Douglas Chaplains Association, and Sea Cadets assisted with the search. There were 54 people signed up to search on Saturday and a further 35 on Sunday. We would also like to thank the Chard family for hosting our command station and staging area. Doctor Ellerby’s family has been notified. Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement throughout this past week.
