The Clatsop County Sheriff's Office on Monday released several new photos of the van that sank several feet into the Oregon surf last week, triggering a multi-day saga that came to an end only with the aid of an excavator.

The last vestiges of Rick Langel's Chevrolet 20 Globemaster and an accompanying trailer were removed early Friday, the sheriff's office said.

The 61-year-old's rig had fallen victim to high tide the day before and became stuck in 3 feet of sand at Del Ray Beach near Gearhart.

The pounding of the surf quickly destroyed the trailer, said Sheriff Tom Bergin. The van was later reduced to a hunk of mangled metal by the excavator, which finally hauled it out of the sand.

Langel, formerly of Damascus, had most of what he owned in his vehicles and lost nearly all of it, the sheriff said.

"Last I saw him, he was camped out on the beach," Bergin said Monday. "We don't allow camping there, but we did for that guy."

Langel did not leave a contact number with the sheriff's office, Bergin said. Efforts to reach him through public records searches have not been successful.

Know how to reach Rick Langel? We'd love to hear from him.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 || @shanedkavanaugh