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

Gerren Kirk, Mount Hood disappearance

Gerren Kirk, disappeared December 3, 2014, Frog Lake Campground, Mount Hood National Forest, OregoN. REMAINS FOUND 2018 AND CONFIRMED JUNE 2022.

Updated January 2023

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

Kirk’s sister Whitney Kirk Altman filed a missing persons report on Sunday, December 7, but 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 official search was called off by the authorities 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.

Gerren Kerk disappearance Mount Hood

Who was Gerren Kirk?

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

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 in a SW direction. That route would have brought him from Clackamas County into Wasco County, so jurisdiction for the search switched over to the Wasco County Sheriff's Office.

Gerren Kirk's gold Pontiac Grand Am was located Monday at the Frog Lake Campground near Mount Hood.

The search

A family member said they believed Gerren had a pack, mummy (sleeping) bag, single-man tent, thermal underwear (receipt 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 them 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 weather on the mountain was mostly damp over the period of the search and slightly above freezing, with unusually low snow levels for December.

Mount Hood from Frog Lake

Mount Hood from Frog Lake

Frog Lake Trail Mount Hood National Forest

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.

Mount hood national forest Frog Lake

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 South West 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

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 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

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

The strange disappearance of Sammy Boehlke from Crater Lake National Park

The bizarre disappearance and death of Charles McCullar in Crater Lake National Park (Member only)

The strange disappearance of Robert Winters near Sparks Lake in Oregon

The Cowden Family Massacre in Oregon

The mysterious disappearance of Tom McAdams at Horsetail Falls in Oregon

The mysterious disappearance of Michael Bryson from the Hobo Campground in Oregon

Sources

https://www.facebook.com/inlovingmemoryofgerrenkirk/

http://www.oregonlive.com/milwaukie/index.ssf/2014/12/post_41.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2014/12/search_mission_underway_near_m.html

https://www.oregonhikers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19556&sid=a21099d7f9d324dd8423a38425fc6ae1&start=10

http://www.shredhood.org/news/accidents/639-outdoor-enthusiast-gerren-kirk-is-still-missing-somewhere-in-the-mount-hood-wilderness

Drone footage https://youtu.be/Zquh8HCvlS4