Missing man may have fallen into bay while photographing high tides, Oregon cops say
_fitted.png "Authorities have suspended search efforts for Joe Neill, who went missing Dec. 15 in Coos County, Oregon.")
A man missing for days is believed to have fallen off a railroad bridge into an Oregon bay while photographing the high tides, police said.
His family believes it was an accident.
Joseph “Joe” Neill left his home the morning of Sunday, Dec. 15, the North Bend Police Department said in a Dec. 19 news release.
He was headed toward Horsefall Beach to snap photos of the “king tide,” which was caused by the recent full moon, McClatchy News previously reported.
But when he never returned home, his wife grew worried and reported him missing, police said.
Police said they began searching for him and tracked his phone to a railroad bridge that runs across Coos Bay and is off Trans Pacific Lane.
Neill’s phone was later analyzed, and police discovered he had been on the bridge at 10:14 a.m.
His vehicle was parked “near the railroad tracks leading to the bridge” near Jordan Point, police said.
One set of footprints were also found leading toward the bridge.
Some of Neill’s items were discovered on the bridge, including a hat, phone, his wife’s business card, a camera and a camera case.
His family said in a Facebook post their dad would leave a business card on his hat if he was doing “something risky.”
“This was something he had done since us kids were little, in case anyone should need to know who to call for help,” his children said in the post.
The next day deputies with the Coos County Sheriff’s Office searched the bay but didn’t find anything.
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter scanned the area along with a boat, police said.
Police dogs were used and a drone was flown, including “high-powered cameras with thermal imaging,” but Neill wasn’t found.
Search efforts have since been halted “pending new evidence or sightings of Mr. Neill,” police said.
“It is believed that Mr. Neill likely entered the water from the bridge, though it remains unclear whether this was the result of a fall or a deliberate action,” police said.
His family said they believe whatever happened was an accident.
“He was there to take pictures. Not take his life. And he got that picture, at least on his phone. And it was pretty. And we got to see it tonight as a family. A smaller family, with a hole in it, but a family,” his family said.
Coos County is near the southern Oregon coastline.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Missing man may have fallen into bay while photographing high tides, Oregon cops say."
