Coos County sheriff’s Deputy Dan Stone, far left, briefs search and rescue volunteers from Douglas County about the North Spit on Saturday. More than 50 searchers combed the North Spit from roughly an area south of Southport Lumber mill to the old lifeboat station and west to the beach. World Photo by Lou Sennick

It was a great day for an excursion on Coos Bay’s North Spit. Sunny skies. Horseback riders. Lots of people.

But this was a mission and it wasn’t all in fun.

More than 50 searchers from Coos and Douglas counties spent all day Saturday covering a large section of the North Spit for a missing North Bend man.

“Fifty four people were out searching that day,” said Coos County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Stone. “As far as any clues, we have no clothing, no nothing.”

North Bend police Sgt. Mike Kuehn described Saturday’s search as a “big push” with hopes of finding 61-year-old Edward Stutesman, who has been missing since Oct. 26. He was known to hike in the area.

The search proved fruitless.

Teams headed out into the sand and brush around 9 a.m. and searched until dark, around 6 p.m.

“We covered a lot of ground from Foredune Road all the way out to the North Jetty,” Stone said.

A U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger found Stutesman’s car at the end of the road on the North Spit last Monday.

Search and rescue volunteers from both counties gathered with mounted sheriff’s posse members on horseback to search an area from roughly south of the Southport Lumber Co. to the old lifeboat station and west to the beach. Sheriff deputies also rode ATVs through the area.

Kuehn said about 30 people searched earlier in the week and found no sign of Stutesman. He said there is very thick brush in the area, but they were going “to do our best” to find the man.

Several members of Search and Rescue and the posse went out on Tuesday, according to Stone.

“We didn’t get the call to go out on the search until the 11th (Tuesday),” Stone said. “There were very, very high winds and rain that day.”

Six deputies searched again on Wednesday, and then coordinated efforts with law enforcement for the Saturday search.

Despite saying Saturday would be the final effort, Stone said a couple deputies went out again on Sunday and plan to go out again today.

“The majority of it is (over), until something comes up,” Kuehn said.

— Staff Writer Jo Rafferty contributed to this story