On Thursday, September 19, 2019, at approx. 6:47pm, Tillamook 911 was notified by a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee that they had located a crash site involving an overdue BLM worker off Nestucca River Road, about 13 miles east of Beaver.
Preliminary investigation revealed the BLM employee, later identified as Michael Steigh, age 64, of Willamina, who was driving a tractor
with a brush cutter attachment, was about an hour and a half overdue which initiated a search by BLM personnel. They located Mr. Steigh in his tractor about 75-100’ down, off Nestucca River Road. They reported the driver was unresponsive but were also having
difficulty making their way down the steep hill. Once fire personnel from Nestucca Fire arrived on scene and reached the crash site, they confirmed Mr. Steigh had sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced
deceased.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by BLM, Nestucca Rural Fire Protection, Oregon State Police, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tillamook County Chaplains.
