The mysterious disappearance and death of Gerren Kirk from Mount Hood National Forest

January 31, 2018 StrangeOutdoors

Gerren Kirk, disappeared December 3, 2014, Frog Lake Campground, Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon. Remains found 2018. Confirmed June 2022.

Updated July 2024

Gerren Kirk, 31, was an experienced outdoorsman who often took solo trips in the woods. He left home on Wednesday, December 3, 2014, to hike in the Mount Hood National Forest and planned to return on December 6. However, he didn't leave any details about this occasion with family members.

Kirk’s sister, Whitney Kirk Altman, filed a missing persons report on Sunday, December 7. Still, the search was delayed until Monday, December 8, because search and rescue crews couldn't be dispatched until the vehicle was located to establish a start point.

After a large search, there was no sign of Gerren, and the authorities called off the official search on December 15, 2014.

In 2018, some lost hikers found a wallet in a ravine about 1 mile from where it was believed he disappeared and what looked like human remains. The hikers found Gerren’s driver's license in the wallet and took it to local police. The bones found were compared to DNA from family members, and in June 2022, the remains were confirmed as Gerren Kirk.

Who was Gerren Kirk?

Gerren Kirk

Kirk grew up in the Milwaukie area and graduated from Portland Public Schools' Vocational Village High School. He lived for several years in Arizona, working in admissions for the University of Phoenix. After returning to Milwaukie, he studied business in Portland Community College. He had recently transferred his credits and completed his first term of online courses with the National University. He planned to complete his bachelor's degree and then pursue a master's.

Kirk was married for several years, but he and his wife Kristin were divorced and shared joint custody of their daughter, five-year-old Gabriella.

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Discovery of the car

Gerren's gold Pontiac Grand Am was found in the parking lot at Frog Lake Campground off U.S. 26 by a family member on Monday, December 8, focusing the search in the heavily wooded areas nearby.

Police also were able to ping his cell phone and locate it east of Frog Lake, heading southwest. That route would have brought him from Clackamas County into Wasco County, so the Wasco County Sheriff's Office took over jurisdiction for the search.

The search

A family member said they believed Gerren had a pack, mummy (sleeping) bag, single-man tent, thermal underwear (the receipt was found in his vehicle), rifle and other handguns, and possibly a green or blue jacket. He purchased a Cliff bar and Monster from the local gas station after asking if he could park his vehicle.

The last person to see Kirk saw him at the Frog Lake parking lot, where his vehicle was found. She said he was in good spirits and was wearing jeans and ‘drab colored’ [green and/or blue] clothing.

An estimated 170 volunteers from across Oregon joined in the search around Frog and Twin Lakes, which lasted for around eight to nine days and was coordinated by the Wasco County Sheriff's Office. Sniffer dogs and surveillance aircraft with heat-detecting infrared also participated. The mountain's weather was primarily wet throughout the search and slightly above freezing, with unusually low snow levels for December.

Mount Hood from Frog Lake

Frog Lake Trail Mount Hood National Forest

Searchers included Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, Mountain Wave Emergency Communications, Clackamas County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, Multnomah County Search and Rescue, Klickitat County Sheriff's Office, Lake County Search and Rescue, Wallowa County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, Clatsop County Sheriff's Office, Salvation Army, Trauma Intervention Program, businesses in Government Camp, Zigzag, Welches and Sandy, Bud's Towing of Oregon City, Milwaukie Presbyterian Church.

Despite the search efforts, one of the largest in Oregon’s history, no trace of Gerren was found, and the efforts were called off on December 15, 2014. It was strange that his cellphone was pinging to the Southwest of Frog Lake, in the direction of Clear Lake, but search efforts seem to have focused on the area to the northeast, in the area of Twin Lakes, unless the media misreported the location.

Discovery of remains and confirmation of identity

Hikers found remains and a wallet containing Gerren’s driving license in 2018. These remains were confirmed to be Gerren’s in June 2022, according to a family member, following DNA tests. The location was only a mile or so from the Frog Lake area.

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Further listening

Locations Unknown EP. #55: Gerren Kirk - Mt. Hood National Forest - Oregon (Audio Only)

Locations Unknown EP. #63: Case updates -Gerren Kirk, Erika Lloyd, Bobby Bizup, & Paul Miller (Live)

Read other Strange Stories from Oregon

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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 strange disappearance of Robert Perry Bissell from the Mount Hood National Park