Oregon man reported missing on Christmas Day found alive in a dry well after 2 days

A man, who was reported missing on Christmas Day in Oregon, was found alive Wednesday afternoon in a dry well several blocks from his home, the Bend Police Department said.

John Michael McLerran, 34, was reported to be missing on Monday, Dec. 25, after authorities responded to a welfare check around 5:30 p.m. McLerran had left his home in midtown Bend to get coffee but never returned. Police said that McLerran did not take his wallet or identification with him.

Two days later, on Wednesday around 3 p.m., a community member called 911 to report that they had found McLerran stuck about six feet below street level in a dry well inside the parking lot of a gated storage unit site.

Bend Police and the city's Fire & Rescue Department responded to the scene and were able to retrieve McLerran from the drain.

He was later taken to a local hospital for evaluation, said the police, and is in good condition.

No foul play

Police said that it appeared that McLerran got into the dry well on his own and that there was no foul play.

"Our officers reviewed surveillance footage from the storage unit site and determined no criminal wrongdoing took place," said the police.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.