Driver missing after landslide sweeps car off interstate, Oregon cops say

As landslides and flooding prompt evacuations in parts of Oregon, a person is missing after the car they were driving was swept away by debris flow, according to a news release from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

The driver, who was identified as Jennifer Camus Moore, 50, of the unincorporated community of Warrendale, went missing in the Dodson area Wednesday when a landslide swept up her car on a highway, said the release, which was posted on Facebook. Firefighters couldn’t find any heat sources with thermal-imaging cameras, nor were they able to find Moore’s car, according to the release.

Officials also attempted to find Moore and her car using a drone, the release said. The conditions are still too dangerous for search teams to begin a physical search in the slide zone, according to the release.

“So much water, so much saturation of the soil, we will be extra careful inspecting the conditions out there before we can get that open,” said Don Hamilton, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, according to KATU.

Officials issued evacuation orders and a flash flood warning for the Dodson area, the release said. Several roads were also closed, including the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84, according to the release.

The sheriff’s office estimated that the landslide that hit I-84 was about 100 yards and several feet thick, the release said.

This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Driver missing after landslide sweeps car off interstate, Oregon cops say."