I forgot HOW to modify the title to let those who have seen this know there is NOW a new and unexpected addition to the story.
So he went to the spot he last saw the buck and nothing. So he started looking around and there it is, laying dead on a bench.
He calls me all pumped up as it is a really nice 4x4 plus brow tines.
Hours later I called him back and this is way after dark. He is still working on getting it out of the woods as the short cut didn't pan out and he went from futile dragging to realizing he was going to need to quarter it on the spot. This was around 7 pm last night and if he got back to Portland at a reasonable time, he would e-mail me photos. None yet so I am suspecting it was a very late night that started with a very early morning.
So sorry, no photo until I can get some too!