Anna Schmidt Identified - She Died at Columbia River Gorge

Sunday, November 13, 2016

GoLocalPDX News Team

Anna Schmidt's remains have been Identified she died at Columbia River Gorge, according to Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO).

On November 11, 2016, at approximately 11:00 a.m., MCSO deputies responded to a call that human remains had been discovered on a trail near the Tooth Rock Trailhead in the Columbia River Gorge. Search and Rescue (SAR) crews and MCSO detectives worked through the afternoon to recover the remains.

The remains were turned over to the Oregon State Medical Examiner's office for identification. On the afternoon of November 12, the remains were identified as those of 21-year-old Anna Schmidt, who was the focus of an MCSO search effort in late October. The Medical Examiner has determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, and the manner of death was accidental.

Schmidt was reported missing on Wednesday October 19 to Portland Police but was last seen by her roommate on Sunday October 16. Schmidt is a hiker and her vehicle was located on October 20 in the Columbia River Gorge near Bonneville Dam.

There were no signs of foul play. Investigators were concerned that she may have gotten lost or injured hiking in the Gorge.

MCSO SAR personnel along with MCSO Trail Hornets and SAR resources from Washington County Sheriff's Office, Clatsop County Sheriff's Office, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Hood River County Sheriff's Office, the FLIR Corporation and Portland Police Bureau air units, Pacific Northwest SAR, Portland Mountain Rescue, Mountain Wave SAR, the Crag Rats, and Northern Oregon SAR, and others searched over 150 miles of the trail system in the Columbia Gorge. Searches were conducted using ground, air, and K9 resources.

The search was suspended on October 23 after no sign of Anna had been located by searchers. MCSO SAR coordinators consulted with a Clackamas County EMS wilderness doctor, MCSO Command, and the Portland Police Bureau's Missing Persons Unit prior to making the decision to suspend search efforts.