The puzzling disappearance and death of Jake Dutton in the Three Sisters Wilderness

James Jacob “Jake” Dutton disappeared June 15, 2012. Remains found August 24, 2016, French Pete Trail, south of Cougar Lake, Three Sisters Wilderness, Oregon.

Revised September 2024

James Jacob “Jake” Dutton left for a hike on the French Pete Trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon on June 15, 2012. He never returned.

He was eventually reported missing, but a search didn't begin for nearly six weeks as he failed to leave any itinerary with friends or relatives. The fact that he wasn't working and was single also delayed the missing persons report.

Jake’s remains were finally found on August 24, 2016, by a hiker only 100 feet off the French Pete Trail. The authorities concluded he died of hypothermia, but was this the most logical explanation, given he disappeared in June? An unexpected fall or storm may have contributed to his demise, but the case is puzzling. What happened to Jake in June 2012?

Who was Jake Dutton?

Jake, aged 32, lived in Eugene, Oregon, and was a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. He had completed studying alternative medical services for pain relief through physical therapy. He was also an experienced hiker and camper.

French Pete Trail and Logging Controversy

The French Pete Trail is a 9.5-mile one-way, 19-mile round-trip hiking trail in the valley of French Pete Creek in the Three Sisters Wilderness of western Oregon, within the Willamette National Forest. The trailhead's elevation at the path's western end is 1,850 feet (560 m), and the trail climbs about 1,000 feet (300 m). It is open for hiking from spring through fall.

Large Douglas Firs and Western Red cedar trees surround the French Pete Trail and drainage. Numerous rocks and steep slopes make the terrain generally rugged and dangerous.

As of mid-2024, large parts of the French Pete Trail are covered in undergrowth, signs are poor, and a GPS is required to follow it. Despite claims that camping is possible along this trail, hikers report that many promising locations aren’t available as much of the trail is steep and has thick underbrush. A hiker on AllTrails reported, “Just be prepared for a lot of downed trees that have to be scrambled over and under and some sections where you might lose the trail. However, if you zigzag, I bet you can usually find the trail.”

It passes through low-elevation old-growth forest that was a nationwide political issue in the 1960s and 1970s because of conflicting plans for logging and wilderness designation. In 1978, the U.S. Congress passed a bill adding the French Pete area to the Three Sisters Wilderness. The forest is made up of huge Douglas firs and 1000-year-old cedars. French Pete Creek flows beside the trail for the trail's first five miles.

In 1938, the U.S. Forest Service added 55,620 acres (225.1 km2), including the French Pete area, to the Three Sisters Primitive Area, established in 1937. In 1957, the Forest Service reduced the size of the protected area, removing French Pete so that more land could be available for timber sales. Conservationists frustrated with the Forest Service's level of authority over timber production and wilderness areas contributed to the inception and enactment of the Wilderness Act in Congress in 1964. The law created new wilderness areas and controversy over the management of the new areas.

The Forest Service announced a plan for logging in the valley in 1968. Conservation groups and most local citizens were opposed to the plan. U.S. Senator Bob Packwood, a Republican from Oregon, recommended that the Forest Service abandon it. Groups such as the Oregon Wilderness Coalition and the Save French Pete Committee campaigned to protect the area. The latter group appealed a logging proposal in court, but the appeal was rejected, and instead, the logging was only delayed, adding to political tensions.

In 1978, after 14 years of protests, the Endangered Wilderness Act protected 45,400 acres (18,400 ha) of the French Pete forest as wilderness, effective February 28. As a result, French Pete became one of the first low-elevation, old-growth valleys to be designated as wilderness in the United States.

The Hike

Jake was last seen at this apartment on June 3, 2012. On Friday, June 15, Jake completed a U.S. Forest Service permit slip to use the French Pete Trail, indicating when he started and planned to end his hike. He stated he would return by June 18.

He had planned to take his 13-year-old nephew, CJ, camping later in June after a family reunion in Seaside, and it is believed that he went to the trail to scout campsites.

The disappearance and search

Jake’s mother, Cynthia Boucher, began to worry about him in mid-June when she called to remind him about his older brother Christopher’s upcoming birthday but could not reach him on his cell phone.

On June 28, Jake agreed to pick up his nephew at the Portland International Airport but failed to do so. Jake's brother subsequently went to the apartment and found no sign of him. He informed the authorities, and on July 9th, a missing persons report was filed with the Eugene Police Department.

Three weeks later, the report, which contained the description and license plate number of the pickup truck, caused the U.S. Forest Service to find the vehicle. His 1998 Blue Nissan Frontier pickup truck was found on July 30, 2012, near McKenzie Pass on forest road 19 near the trailhead for French Pete, off Aufderheide Memorial Drive. Jake's backpack, inflatable boat, and hiking boots were not in the truck and were found in his apartment. 

French Pete

French Pete

Missing poster Jake Dutton

Jake had his cell phone with him, but there was no coverage in the French Pete area of the forest.

The family was frustrated that Forest Service officials didn’t use the permit to figure out that he had not returned from his hike and that his pickup was still at the trailhead. 

Two searches involving law enforcement personnel, volunteers and search and rescue dogs occurred on July 31 and August 5. No signs of Jake were found on these searches.

Like Jake Dutton, Daming Xu disappeared in the same area on November 4, 2007, after summiting Mount Ollalie. His guidebook was found near the French Pete Creek, but his body or belongings were never recovered. Read more: Daming Xu - Strange Disappearances from U.S. Wilderness Areas

Daming Xu

Remains found

Four years after Dutton disappeared without a trace, his skeleton was found on August 24, 2016, by a hiker about 100 feet off the French Pete Trail, about 4 miles from the trailhead.

Jake’s remains were found near his backpack and two cans of bear spray in the steep, heavily forested area. His pants were still on, but his torso was bare. With no evidence of trauma or gunshot wounds indicating foul play and family members saying he was not suicidal, authorities concluded that he died of hypothermia. His cell phone was with the remains.

It is never recommended to go hiking in the wilderness alone, and certainly not in the French Pete Trail area of Oregon, without leaving a detailed itinerary behind with friends or family.

What happened to Jake Dutton?

The weather in Oregon in June is relatively benign during the day, at around 70°F (21.1°C), but it can fall as low as 41°F (5°C) during the night. Unless Jake fell into the stream without a change of clothes or got caught in a freak storm, hypothermia seems unlikely.

Given the rugged terrain, Jake may have fallen off-trail and could not return despite being only 100 feet away from relative safety. Perhaps he ventured off for a call of nature or to eat something in a quiet spot? Maybe he tripped and gouged his leg on a jagged branch or rock outcrop, dropped his pack as he stumbled, went down and passed out from blood loss, dying shortly after that.

Because there were just skeletal remains, an autopsy would have found it difficult to determine the cause of death unless there was a noticeable break in his bones. This was not reported.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Pete_Trail

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/oregon/french-pete-creek-trail

http://oregonmissing.blogspot.com/2012/07/james-dutton-june-2012-eugene.html

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/06/lost_in_oregon_hiker_who_vanis.html

https://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/34761943-75/mother-finds-closure-four-years-after-her-hiker-son-went-missing.html.csp