Orland Park Man Dies in Flash Flood on Mount Hood

Brent A. Ludwig, 34, of Orland Park

Torrential rain and flash flooding on Mount Hood in Oregon claimed the life of a south suburban man last Tuesday as he was hiking a trail with dozens of others.

Brent A. Ludwig, 34, of Orland Park, was swept away by floodwaters that washed out a wooden footbridge over the Sandy River. Mr. Ludwig was the 24th hiker in line to cross the bridge, according to an OregonLive.com report. The first 23 hikers made it across the bridge but were stranded when the flood swept away Ludwig and the bridge.

Search-and-rescue teams descended on Mount Hood. Mr. Ludwig’s body was found downstream about three hours later, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department.

Mr. Ludwig, vice president of the family business, the Woodbine Golf Course in Homer Glen, was also an architect at Robert Juris & Associates Architects in Frankfort. He is survived by his wife Dana, his parents, Jim and Pat, and his brother Brad.

A funeral Mass will place at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Alphonsus Church, 210 E. Logan St., Lemont.

Mr. Ludwig graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Hinsdale South High School.

“Thoughtful, dependable, hilarious, generous, and creative but logical. Architect, lover of animals ... 15.1 handicap golfer, and an instant friend to all those he met,” reads his obituary at Legacy.com.