A Lebanon man ended up in jail Monday after his friend's wife called police to report that he and her husband were missing during a hunting trip.

According to police, John Boeder, 51, and Bryan Keith Spaulding, 52, were hunting Sunday night in the Crabtree Lake area off Quartzville Road outside of Sweet Home.

At 9:11 p.m., Boeder's wife called police, worried that they hadn't returned on time. About an hour later, police said, she called off the search, saying she had heard from her husband and that they would be heading home soon.

But Boeder's wife called police once more, at 2:17 a.m. The two men still hadn't returned, so she asked them to resume the search.

Deputies with the Linn County Sheriff's Office responded to the Crabtree Lake area and found Boeder, who told them that his friend had been trying to flush out some elk and never returned to their vehicle.

Deputies searched the area and found Spaulding at 11:03 a.m. Monday. He was on a logging road, about a mile from where he was last seen.

When they found Spaulding, they arrested him on an allegation of being a felon possessing a firearm – a hunting rifle. He didn't need medical attention and was lodged in the Linn County Jail.

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum