A trip to Oregon’s secluded Lost Boy Beach for an iconic photo turned into a dramatic rescue when three tourists became stranded and ended up posing for an SOS image of their own.
The three unidentified visitors spent about five hours trapped on the Tillamook County beach Wednesday, Sept. 16, after the incoming tide covered their route back to the mainland. With regular cell service reportedly unavailable at the base of the steep cliff, they reached 911 through an emergency satellite feature, The Oregonian reported.
The Netarts-Oceanside Fire District responded and located the group on a shrinking strip of sand as waves continued to advance. Drone footage showed the tourists arranging sticks into a large “SOS” signal.
Emergency drone footage captured the stranded visitors on Oregon’s Lost Boy Beach after they spelled out SOS with sticks for rescuers to see, (Netarts-Oceanside Fire District)
Reaching Lost Boy Beach requires scrambling across rocky ground and passing through a sea cave with openings on both ends. Although the cove can appear accessible at low tide, the rising ocean can quickly seal off its only way out.
“When people are stranded there, we may not be able to get to them,” NOFD Chief Jeff McBrayer told the newspaper.
Three tourists became stranded on Oregon’s Lost Boy Beach after descending a cliff to capture what they described as a dramatic photo of the coastline. Instead, drone cameras recorded their rescue. (Netarts-Oceanside Fire District)
Rescue crews considered waiting until the tide dropped, but decided against it because of the rough surf, dangerous sneaker waves and the visitors’ condition. The tourists were already wet and cold, Chief McBrayer said.
Responders moved along the narrow shoreline while attached to safety ropes, avoiding a direct crossing through the unpredictable surf. After reaching the group, they supplied life jackets, secured each person to the ropes and guided them through the waves to a safer section where they could make their way out.
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The Netarts-Oceanside Fire District rescued the three stranded visitors after they used nearby sticks to write SOS, while warning others not to repeat the dangerous mistake. (Netarts-Oceanside Fire District)
The tourists escaped with only minor bumps and bruises.
Afterward, Chief McBrayer urged anyone exploring Oregon’s isolated beaches to take the coastline’s hidden hazards seriously.
“You have to ask a local or check a tide app on a phone for tide information,” he said.
According to the report, drone video captured the stranded tourists after they sent an emergency 911 request from a location without reliable standard cell service. (Netarts-Oceanside Fire District)
Lost Boy Beach sits along Oregon’s northern coast, south of a towering basalt cliff, and its unsettling name comes from a local legend dating back roughly a century. Regional lore says a young boy drowned after becoming trapped by the incoming tide. The story has never been confirmed, but the name remains — an enduring warning about the cove’s rapidly changing and potentially deadly conditions.
The hidden beach lies between Short Beach to the north and Tunnel Beach, also called Star Trek Beach, to the south. Short Beach gained a community-built “stairway of 100 steps” around 2000 to reduce injuries on its slippery cliff, but Lost Boy Beach has never had a safe route overland.
Reaching the sand from either direction is extremely hazardous and may be possible only during rare, exceptionally low tides that occur just a few times each year.