A mushroom hunter who was reported as missing near Sumpter on Saturday, May 17, returned to a friend’s Baker City home on his own and refused to talk to police after they learned he was on supervised probation, according to the Baker County Sheriff’s Office.

The incident started about 6:03 p.m. Saturday when Gail Vansickel called the sheriff’s office dispatch center to say she had last seen Jerry Boatman, 43, of Ontario, about 2 p.m. while they were hunting mushrooms.

Vansickel told police that Boatman wasn’t familiar with the area along Cracker Creek a couple miles north of Sumpter, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.

Members of the sheriff’s office’s search and rescue team went to the area and searched the dredge tailing piles along the creek, but found nothing.

“During the search, law enforcement received conflicting statements surrounding the nature of the disappearance and learned that Boatman was on supervised probation in Malheur County,” the press release states. “Information was also received that a store clerk spotted an individual believed to be Boatman in Baker City at approximately 4:00 p.m. After careful consideration of these factors, the search was suspended until daylight.”

Search and rescue volunteers were preparing to resume the search Sunday morning, May 18, when Vansickel told deputies that Boatman had hitched a ride from Sumpter and returned to her home in Baker City.

“Deputies responded to the home to speak with Boatman, but he fled prior to their arrival,” the press release states. “They were able to make contact with him via phone, and he refused to meet with them.”