The strange disappearance of Robert Winters near Sparks Lake in Oregon
Robert Winters disappeared October 8, 1969, Sparks Lake, Oregon.
Revised September 2024
78-year-old Robert Winters disappeared in October 1969 on a hunting trip with his family in an area around Sparks Lake in Oregon. The area is south of Broken Top Mountain and north of Mt. Bachelor.
The party consisted of Robert and his sons Charles, George, and Alvin. They had hunted in Oregon on an annual trip for over twenty years. They had decided to hunt in this area because snowfall at higher altitudes would have made it difficult to find animals.
Robert was last seen at around 11 a.m. on October 8, 1969, when he left his family to start hunting. He failed to show up back at the camp as darkness fell that day. As it became dark, heavy snow started falling, and around 1.5 feet (46 cm) fell in the 24 hours after he disappeared.
Sparks lake, Oregon
The search for Robert Winters
The family contacted the Deschutes County Sheriff to report Robert's disappearance, and around 60 people joined in the search and rescue efforts. A helicopter was deployed, and tracks were spotted nearby at Soda Creek, around 7,100 metres, higher than the 5,400 metres at which Sparks Lake is located. However, no sign of Winters or his equipment was found during the extensive search.
The discovery of Robert’s belongings
The following summer, Dr Jack Crosby, a doctor on a hiking holiday in the area, came across some items near Soda Creek, just below the tree line, near where the footsteps had been seen on the aerial search. Crosby reported his find to the Sheriff, and a search of the locality was started.
After a three-day, detailed investigation by the Sheriff's department, the only things found in the vicinity were Robert's deer rifle placed against a tree, his clothes found at the base of the tree, the glasses, one boot, and one glove.
No remains were found in the area, and there was no blood on the clothes. It looked like the clothes had been carefully removed and not shredded by an animal as part of an attack.
Deputies Mel Newhouse and Norman Thrasher, who investigated the discovery, described the scene as "very odd," as not one bone was ever recovered despite a detailed search.
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