WELCHES, Or. (KATU) — The Clackamas County sheriff said last week that Mt. A family mourned after a hiker lost in the Hood National Forest was identified as 33-year-old James Robert MacDonald of Ridgefield, Washington. It was found by search and rescue crews near Paradise Park Road near Welches.

Last Wednesday, MacDonald decided to go for a walk on her day off from the hospital.

“James was a radiologist at OHSU. He was in his last year of residency or nearing the end of his residency,” said Ben Seeley, MacDonald’s brother-in-law. He told us MacDonald had to be home for dinner.

“My sister was worried because she had no contact with him. There was no cell reception. And when he was late and didn’t come home after hours, he called search and rescue,” Seeley said.

The family went through an emotional ups and downs for two days.

“They found a few things that gave us hope that he had dropped his water bottle, they might have found some footprints in the snow that they thought were his. So we thought, okay, maybe he’s coming down from the mountains, doing little updates like that,” Seeley said. “When the second night came, we started to get really worried, knowing that he wasn’t like that. I don’t plan to spend the night there. His jacket was in the car.”

Two days later, rescuers found what we now know to be MacDonald’s body. Seeley’s sister was shattered.

“He said it felt like a bad dream. And this is still very new and has been very, very difficult,” Seeley said.

MacDonald leaves behind four children, including two 1-year-old twins.

The family’s financial future remains uncertain.

“They had sacrificed so much during their years in medical school while raising a family. And, you know, they kind of got very close to the end and it was possible for him to be able to accept a full-time job,” Seeley said.

READ MORE | Hiker missing since Wednesday found dead in Mount Hood National Forest

The family created an environment GoFundMe To help MacDonald’s wife and children.