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The remains of an 82-year-old Northeast Portland man were discovered in the backyard of his home Tuesday, months after search and rescue dogs were sent onto the property in January and found nothing, Portland police said.

(MCSO)

More than five months after an 83-year-old man was reported missing, human remains were discovered in the back yard of the home where he had lived, according to Portland police.

The remains didn't turn up when Portland police tapped the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office to bring in search and rescue dogs to look for him at his home on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

They were discovered instead Tuesday by contractors who began cleaning out the yard of the home, amid overgrown brush and a woodpile, police said.

Jerry Kent Boyer

Jerry Kent Boyer was reported missing on Dec. 29, after friends the day before checked his home in the 4800 block of N.E. 15th Ave. and found newspapers piling up on his porch and his dogs loose in the backyard.

Police checked the home and didn't find Boyer or any sign of "unusual activity or foul play,'' Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

Police discovered that Boyer had driven his car to an ATM in the 1700 block of N.E. Alberta St. about 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 25, then made a phone call from his home around 3:30 p.m.

The state medical examiner confirmed the remains were human and match that of Boyer. An autopsy has determined Boyer died of exposure, "probable hypothermia,'' according to the medical examiner's office.

"Based on an initial investigation at the scene, there do not appear to be any signs of foul play,'' Simpson said, in a prepared release.

Lt. Steve Alexander, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, said, "I have no idea, '' how the state-certified search and rescue dogs led by volunteer handlers missed the remains in January.

Alexander said the Gresham-based Mountain Wave Emergency Communications Inc.'s search and rescue sent two human remains detection dogs to the property in January when Portland police made the request to the sheriff's office.

"We didn't have our search and rescue dogs do any ground searches,'' Alexander said.

Russ Gubele, president of Mountain Wave's search and rescue, said one of their human remains detection dogs scoured the backyard with Portland police.

"It's a K9 handler's worst nightmare if something gets missed,'' Gubele said. He said there was a ton of clutter in Boyer's back yard, and temperatures that day were about 24 degrees.

"If things are frozen or really cold, the dog has to be really close to pick up a scent,'' Gubele said. "The dog had no interest anywhere in that backyard. It is possible it got missed.''

Neighbor Jeana Wines said she remembered when a cadaver dog was on Boyer's property. "We saw them searching Jerry's backyard, and the house and the neighborhood,'' Wines said, adding that searches occurred on very cold days in January.

Wines, who took in Boyer's own Doberman for awhile before finding another home for the dog, also said she took Boyer's dog back on the property earlier this year to see if his own dog might detect something. But the dog did not. She said Boyer's yard was filled with scrap wood and other junk.

Boyer had a routine, and neighbors suspected he hadn't ventured far from home. It was members of the nearby American Legion who had noticed he hadn't come by to visit and went to see if he was home.

"I'm sorry for his family, but glad they can finally find some relief,'' Wines said.

--Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212; @maxoregonian