The strange disappearance of Robert Perry Bissell from the Mount Hood National Forest

November 5, 2017 StrangeOutdoors

Robert Perry Bissell, disappeared July 12, 2010, Rock Lakes Basin, Roaring River Wilderness Area, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon.

Revised February 2024

On July 12, 2010, 57-year-old Robert Bissell left his home in Portland, Oregon, to go camping in the Roaring River Wilderness Area near Rock Lakes above Estacada, Oregon (to the southeast of Portland).

Bissell was an experienced back-country camper who liked to hike alone into remote areas to enjoy wilderness-area fishing and the solitude of nature.

He filed a wilderness-use permit with the U.S. Forest Service, saying he expected to return on July 16. He was never seen again.

See this content in the original post

The trip to Rock Lakes

Robert parked his white 1989 Nissan Sentra with Oregon license plates at Trailhead 700 near Rock Lakes and hiked around five miles to set up camp off Trail 512 near Middle Rock Lake.

It appears he departed his campsite intending to be gone only for a day or less, as he had left his sleeping bag and gear at the site, taking only his fishing rod and tackle.

Meanwhile, he had filed a wilderness-use permit with the U.S. Forest Service, saying he expected to return on July 16.

The search for Robert Bissell

Robert Bissell’s 1989 Nissan Sentra

He was reported missing after his brother went to the campsite on July 19 and July 24, finding no sign of him.

On the morning of Sunday, July 25, 2010, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team began a large-scale search that lasted for eight days. The field search focused on the Roaring River Wilderness, Rock Lakes Basin and the surrounding trail system and lakes, including Serene Lake, Shining Lake and Shell Rock Lake.

Some other campers reported to rangers that they had met Robert in the Roaring River Wilderness Area at the beginning of his trip, about 20 miles southeast of Estacada. Bissell left a note spelling out when he was heading into the Roaring River area and when he expected to return.

Searchers believed he set up camp, then went on a day hike to fish the Rock Lakes Basin as his rod and fishing tackle were gone. There was plenty of trout to be caught in the lakes in the area.

Flyers were posted in area campgrounds, trailheads, ranger stations and throughout the nearest town of Estacada asking for information.

Sgt. James Rhodes of the Clackamas County Search and Rescue Unit said Bissell might have suffered a severe injury while trekking around the Rock Lakes Basin in the Mount Hood National Forest. Rhodes and his team were confident in finding Robert as the temperatures around his disappearance were cool but not freezing, "It gets chilly at night, but it's not the kind of weather that pushes people into hypothermia." Unfortunately, there was no cell phone coverage in the area.

Search efforts included using hundreds of volunteers and 60-70 professional searchers, two fixed-wing planes, a helicopter, search dogs, mounted horse patrol, man-trackers, ATVs, and 4×4 vehicles.

Helicopters were used to search the meadows and the shorelines of more than a dozen lakes in the basin. Surveillance planes searched the area, flying grid patterns and canine search teams from Yamhill County and Clark County, Washington, combed the ground along with teams from the Air Force Reserve 304th Rescue Squadron and Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue.

Searchers generally worked in teams of six. They followed standard search-and-rescue procedure, moving into new areas, then shouting and blowing whistles. They then waited quietly for a response, which never came.

The extensive search of Mount Hood National Forest showed no indication of Bissell's whereabouts when it officially ended on August 3. The terrain is extremely rocky and rugged, and three of the four search horses even threw their shoes.

During their search, teams discovered several items they thought Bissell might have left. But each time they brought the items to base camp, his brother, Michael Bissell, said they didn't belong to Robert. Searchers also located other campers who said they spoke to Robert as he set up his camp.

None of Robert's clothing or fishing gear was located. His body has never been found. He had vanished, never to be seen again.

Read other strange stories from Oregon

The search for Anna Schmidt at Munra Point in Oregon (Member only)

The strange disappearance of Alissa Marie McCrann from Multnomah Falls

The strange disappearance of Ronald Allen Ohm from the Mount Jefferson Wilderness

The mysterious disappearance of Gerren Kirk from Mount Hood National Park

The strange disappearance of Robert Bobo in the Rogue River National Forest

The strange disappearance of Roy Loren Stephens from the Willamette National Forest

The strange disappearance of Derrick Engebretson from the Winema National Forest

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

The strange disappearance of Daming Xu from the Three Sisters Wilderness

The bizarre disappearance and death of Corey Fay in the Badger Creek Wilderness