Account
Dec 17, 2011
May 21, 2024
Brian
Jones
50
37
72 inches
190 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
On a September day in 2011, 37-year-old Brian Christopher Jones, a student at the University of Oregon, was engaged in a mountain climb in the challenging Three Sisters Wilderness. Accompanied by a friend, Jones was near the summit of the North Sister, a mountain known for its difficult and dangerous terrain, when the unthinkable happened. His climbing partner witnessed him fall from the west side of the mountain. The fall was catastrophic; he first rolled down a gravel slope before going over a sheer cliff estimated to be 500 feet high. Immediate efforts were launched to locate and rescue Jones. Crews from Lane, Linn, and Deschutes counties responded to the emergency call made by his climbing partner. The Oregon Air National Guard dispatched a Black Hawk helicopter, and their crew was able to locate what they believed to be Jones's body at an elevation of around 9,000 feet. However, severe weather conditions, including high winds and snow, made a recovery impossible at the time. The treacherous conditions ultimately forced the suspension of the search and rescue operations by the end of the month. Brian Jones was a 1992 graduate of Springfield High School and was pursuing a business degree at the University of Oregon with an expected graduation in 2012. He was a father of three and had plans to marry his girlfriend. The North Sister mountain is notorious among climbers for its loose volcanic rock and the limited opportunities to safely anchor ropes. The area where Jones fell is described as a hazardous, exposed, and friable slope. Authorities stated that at the time of the accident, Jones did not have a safety line attached. Due to the perilous and unstable nature of the terrain where his body was located, rescuers were unable to recover him, and he is presumed to have perished in the fall.
Sep 24, 2011
Eugene
Oregon
Lane County
97404
No
11121
Lane County Sheriff's Office
Eugene
Oregon
Lane County
97401
DJ Mann
Sergeant
125 East 8th Avenue, Oregon
5416824150
County
Law Enforcement
11-7087
Lane County Sheriff's Office
Brown
Blue
Brown
05/24/2026
