Grant County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue personnel located a missing elk hunter early Sunday morning after an all-night search in the mountains southeast of Dale.

John Day dispatch received a cellphone call at about 8:38 p.m. on Saturday reporting a hunter who had not come out on a road as planned.

Deputy Brandon Hutchison and search and rescue volunteers responded to the Howard Creek area, off Forest Service Road 10 about 11 miles from Dale, and searched the area through a snowy night.

Leroy Needham, 83, was located next to a warming fire at about 4 a.m. Search and rescue personnel sheltered in place while waiting for daylight. Needham walked out and was reunited with his family and his hunting party several hours later.