6/24/09 Bend
 
by Ariel Wesler
 
For 57-year old Eddy Miller of Bend, the Deschutes River was his passion.  Always drifting the river, a few years ago he took up stand up paddling and joined a local group, often taking the path less traveled.
 
"Hey randall, you've got to try this from the top of Benham.  There's a short portage and then we can paddle up river to the next portage and no one ever does it," said Randall Barna, a close friend.
 
His most recent adventure in Northeast Idaho-- near the Salmon River killed him.  Search and rescue crews found Miller's body was found at the bottom of a ridge--an area with steep rocky terrain and no trail system.  He had been missing since Saturday.
 
A nearly 40-year Bend resident, Miller lived in this house on the Westside--hand crafted himself.  Miller didn't rely much on technology.  If he want to talk to you, he would just stop by.
 
A few friends stopped by to put up this plack in his front yard--where anyone could post memories and pictures--a symbol of how much the community cares.  Friends say he had a magnetic personality.
 
"He just drew people towards him and he was interested in what they had to say," Barna said.
 
He was a log home builder by profession, but the slump in the economy gave him more time to navigate the river.  He just got his river guide license this summer--hoping to share his knowledge with others.
 
"He knew every bug, every bird, every critter in the water," Barna said.
 
Never standing down from a challenge, Miller spent most of his life conquering the outdoors, but this time the wilderness won.
 
"It's appropriate.  I mean, he went doing something he loved, having a big adventure, and living life to the fullest," Barna said.
 
Miller leaves behind a wife and no children.
 
06/24/09 Bend / Lemhi County, Idaho
 
 
On Wednesday, searchers in Lemhi County, Idaho found the body of 57 year old Eddie Miller who had been missing since Saturday.  Miller went for a hike in the Frank Church Wilderness area near the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.  The area has rocky, steep terrain with no trail system.  Recent rain made the rocks slippery.  Miller was an avid outdoorsman and had been in Idaho for a rafting/camping trip.