Wayne Falconer Wikel -- Missing Since 1992 From Oregon

Paraphrased details from government source**:

Wayne Wikel was on a camping trip. He failed to return from it. He was in the Eagle Creek area off of trail #401. He was an experienced hiker/outdoorsman/fisherman. His vehicle was found at the Eagle Creek trailhead.

Missing Person: Wayne Falconer Wikel

Last-contact date: June 14th, 1992
The area where the MP was last seen: Near Hood River, Oregon
Link to government source: NamUs MP

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 48 years old
Birthdate: Wayne Falconer Wikel was born between June 15th, 1943, and June 14th, 1944 based on his reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel
Scar: Nothing found.
Height/weight: 6'0" and 155 pounds
BMI*: Wayne Falconer Wikel was in the normal range for BMI.
No photo found: If a photo can't be found, rely on BMI, height, weight, ethnicity, and other physical features to describe or picture the person.

Tattoos: Wayne Falconer Wikel did not have any tattoos associated with his profiles.

Wayne Falconer Wikel has not been seen since June 14th, 1992 when he was 48 years old. This individual went on a hiking/camping trip and never returned. His vehicle, which was a Toyota truck with Oregon plates, was found parked at the trailhead for the Eagle Creek Trail.

I found minimal news coverage for this missing person. However, he was expected to be on a three-day outing. Also, he was taking a 28-mile hike when he went missing. This individual has now been missing for about 33 years as of March 2025.

20 Jun 1992, Sat Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) Newspapers.com

Eagle Creek Trail: A Dangerous Trail 

In the absence of much media coverage, I decided to focus this article on the trail that he went missing on. AllTrails.com described the trail as moderate, however, I think the length and dangers of this trail would make it more than just that.

The AllTrails website had over 800 photos of the trail at the original time of writing. Some of them depicted a ravine-side or seemingly cliff-side location with dirt for foot gripping (ie. mud in the rain).

Furthermore, there were points in the videos I watched that showed waterfalls falling directly onto the trail. Some potential falling points for Wayne looked like they might take you directly into the river or creek. If you watch the following video from YouTube, you will see how dangerous the trail looks.

I found another case of a missing person on this trail. An individual named Jason Neville was missing on the trail in May 1999. I don't know if he was found or not but it still speaks to the dangers of the area.

Furthermore, I found an indication that the trail is affected by landslides. That would make it hazardous, even for an experienced hiker because rock fall and landslides are very random.

01 Apr 1999, Thu Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) Newspapers.com

Injured Middle-Aged Man Goes on Dangerous Trail, Hiking Alone

But the trail looked risky enough that any kind of surprise might cause someone to lose his or her footwork. If this happened at a moment when it was critical to maintain balance, then anything could happen. According to Wayne's NamUs profile, he had an "old knee injury" and limped sometimes.

Basically, we're looking at a case of someone presumptively hiking alone, who was taking a three-day trip over 28 miles of dangerous trail, who limped, and who was 48 years old. If the excursion aggravated his injury, his balance could have suffered. There are many points on that trail where a fall could be fatal.

We have no photo of this missing person. When a missing person doesn't have a photo, researchers can try to find a photo at Ancestry.com or at Newspapers.com.

Table of Similar Cases - With Outcomes

I put together the following table. It's not exhaustive and reflects only what I could find in the time I was willing to donate to this blog post.

There are 12 missing persons cases below, 11 of which are now resolved. The one that is not resolved is simply the one in this blog post.

Most of the found missing hikers, whose vehicles were found near the trail, were found dead. The vehicle being found near the trail is important because it suggests that they never left the area. That applies to Wayne Wikel.

I did find three hikers who survived their disappearance event. Their vehicles were near the trail as well. But two of them were found pretty quickly after going missing. The other was found about a month later.

Basically, Wayne Wikel should be presumed dead and hidden in the forest. If you go missing on a hiking trail, then you need to be found in a handful of days or sooner before things turn dire.

Missing Person	Date of Disappearance	Vehicle Found Near Trail	Outcome
Dan Campbell	April 8, 1991	Vehicle near Hellroaring Creek trailhead, Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA	Found deceased (date unclear, post-1991)
Gerald “Gerry” Largay	July 22, 1991	Vehicle near Appalachian Trail, Sugarloaf Mountain, ME, USA	Found deceased (October 2015)
Wayne Falconer Wikel	June 14, 1992	Toyota truck (Oregon plate SEV 789) at Eagle Creek Trailhead, near Hood River, OR, USA	Not yet found (unresolved)
Tom McClintock	September 9, 1996	Truck near Pacific Crest Trail, Sierra Nevada, CA, USA	Found ALIVE (September 15, 1996)
Karen Lee Bigham	October 6, 1996	White Dodge pickup near Middle Fork Trail, Gila National Forest, NM, USA	Found deceased (October 11, 1996)
David Koch	August 23, 1997	Vehicle near Pacific Crest Trail, Snoqualmie Pass, WA, USA	Found deceased (September 1997)
Ruthanne Ruprecht	October 12, 1998	Car near Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park, VA, USA	Found ALIVE (October 14, 1998)
Peter Jackson	September 17, 2016	Vehicle at White Wolf Campground, Yosemite National Park, CA, USA	Found deceased (2018)
Brian Gall	January 2, 2021	Vehicle near Arizona Trail and Forest Service Road #300, Flagstaff, AZ, USA	Found deceased (date unclear)
David Muehl	August 20, 2021	Hertz rental vehicle at First Water Trailhead, Tonto National Forest, AZ, USA	Found deceased (date unclear)
Meghan Marohn	March 27, 2022	Black 2017 Subaru Impreza near Longcope Park trails, Lee, MA, USA	Found deceased (Sept 1, 2022) Report: Berkshire Eagle
Sam Benastick	October 17, 2024	Vehicle near Redfern Lake trailhead, Redfern-Keily Provincial Park, BC, Canada	Found ALIVE (November 26, 2024) Report: RCMP

Wayne Falconer Wikel may have had the following articles when he disappeared: a green Kelty frame backpack, a hammock with a camouflage cover, a fishing pole, and Hybrid nylon/leather hiking boots.

Clothing and articles/items that a missing person was last associated with can be important. If, for example, a John Doe is found, knowing what the missing person had in his possession might expedite a match. Furthermore, it's important to note that his knee injury might be a clue to his identity in his skeletal remains.

Thank you for reading. If have any information about this case, consider contacting the authorities.

Popular Tag: "Car Found Person Missing" is a popular tag for this site. It describes a missing person who either owned or was using a vehicle at the time of his/her disappearance. The vehicle is found but the person is not. Click the hashtag at the bottom of this blog post to see just how many times this pattern is present in missing-person cases.

Author: Shane Lambert (UncoolNegated on Websleuths)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

Shane Lambert (UncoolNegated on Websleuths) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight.
**Might not be the exact meaning that NamUs or Canada's Missing conveys. I improve upon their descriptions with my research.

Disclaimer: To determine whether a person is missing or not, this site relies heavily on government sources. If you are described as missing when you are not, I recommend simply having your missing person report updated or removed. When that happens, updates at this site can follow.

['Missing person Facebook Group', "Canada's Missing", 'CharleyProject.org Wayne Falconer Wikel', 'DoeNetwork Wayne Falconer Wikel', 'Wayne Falconer Wikel missing person', 'what happened to Wayne Falconer Wikel', 'missing Near Hood River person', 'missing Oregon person', 'missing Near Hood River man', 'missing Oregon man', 'missing Near Hood River men', 'missing Oregon men', 'missing man Near Hood River', 'missing man Oregon', 'missing from Near Hood River', 'missing from Oregon', 'Near Hood River missing persons', 'Oregon missing persons', 'Wayne Falconer Wikel missing from Oregon', 'disappearance of Wayne Falconer Wikel', 'foul play', 'missing since', 'has not been seen', 'whereabouts of', 'missing person', 'missing persons database', 'theories', 'what happened to Wayne Falconer Wikel']