"Rescue work is teamwork. Period. It can’t be done
without working together." Rex
Red Rock Four Wheelers donated $ 3000.00. Thank you verrrrry much.
OPERATIONS NOTES: Drive Safely to incidents. Racing, bad passes
and risk taking are NOT in our operations manual. Identify the correct
map(s) to use during briefing. Again and again- You can’t search going 35
mph on an ATV or JetSkis.
_____________________
Note on incident 05- 51 The death of the teenage girl on the
Porcupine singletrack may well be due to Hyponatremia. She was drinking
enuff water but not replacing any electrolytes.
05-53 7-3-05 Agency
Assist Rock Rescue Arches NP
David climbed up the back wall of Double Arch higher than he could
climb down. He found a small ledge to stand on and told his friend to get
help.
Jason went to evaluate and had dispatch page for all technical rock
rescue personnel listening to the radio. GCSAR was paged, RISKY sent
Andrew.
As usual with the Dewey Bridge member of the Entrada (or is it the
Carmel formation??) there are no reasonable cracks and much rotten rock.
We set up a "psychological" belay, put in 4 camming devices behind loose
flakes and traversed over to a small ledge just under his feet. He was
calm and cool about the whole thing and it’s good he didn’t have to hang
on very hard.
A hand drilled hole was started before the electric drill got
there. But it got there and was hauled over. Three anchors were drilled
in, a rope tied around David’s waist. He down climbed to safety. The crowd
gathered below applauded.
Responders: Bego, John, Sam, Lee, Jon, Paula, Barb, Aug, James
NPS: Jason, Murray, Andrew, Gary, Lee, Karen, CRISTA
05-54 4th o July River
Rescue Rocky Rapid
Colorado River
"Stranded kyaker on right bank at Rock Rapid." I knew who it was.
Had to be.
So we launched the river rescue boat right at Rocky Rapid. Just as
we pulled out from shore, some guy with a motor on a raft scooped her up.
Right in front of our very eyes.
We ran the boat down to the BLM takeout.
Responders: Bego, Cody, Mike back from 75 day hike, Barbara, Sam
July 4th- Fireworks detail- best show by Rick Fullam, Doni Kiffmeyer,
Carol, et al.
Human Fences: August, Sam, Barbara, James, Bego
XX-XX July 7th- Big grass fire out by the upper
gravel pit and along the west side of the long, low hill next to the road.
GCSAR helped by taking drinks around to the fire crews. Units from MFD,
USFS, BLM, Grand County Road Dept. Two crop duster planes came from Grand
Jct and Cortez with fire retardant and dumped their orange loads. That was
fascinating to watch.
Responders: Sam, Bego, Lee
05-55 7-7-05 Biker Down
SRBT
A female from Denmark biffed on the practice loop, hurting her
ankle, leg and shoulder. We took 2 Rangers and 2 EMTs to get her.
This accident was radioed in by a Castle Valley First Responder who
was guiding them.
Responders: Bego, Sam, Cody, John, Barbara, Lee, Mike, Aug
05-56 7-7-05 Dehydrated
Bikers Gold Bar Rim
Veronica came over to the Shed with some very confusing news about
a mom and some boys and where were they all and what was happening.
Archie went up to the lower Gemini parking lot. Talked to the Mom
and the boys appeared. All’s well that ends well.
Responders: Bego, Sam, Frank, Cody, John, Barbara, Lee, Aug, James
_____________________
July 9th-- Grand Opening of Thompson Fire Station. Nice.
_____________________
Bluejohn Canyon Wayne County
Overdue Hiker
July 8th, 9th, 10th
His wife reported him overdue at about 1 pm today. This would be a
search for a 57 year old male who was going to hike Bluejohn Canyon, made
famous by Aron Ralston. He had parked his car at the end of his hike. The
subject was seen doing his bike shuttle at 11 am or so yesterday (8th). If
it was 11 am and he hadn’t started the canyon yet there is no way he could
finish in the same day. Jason was IC for awhile cuz it took quite some
time to contact someone in Wayne County. They called Emery County for
additional personnel. Jason got permission to get the BLM fire helicopter
to take he and Jeff over there to help.
The DPS helicopter was finally dispatched after 6 pm. He worked
until low on fuel. After fueling and napping at Moab Airport at 11 pm, the
helo used night vision and the FLIR for 2 hours. Jason and Jeff hiked the
whole Bluejohn route THAT NIGHT with heavy packs.
Next day 9 am- The bike was found and tracks led off .....Incident
Command was set up on the road junction near Burr Pass 0560850x4247800,
the very upper end of the west fork.
Melvin had left a copy of Aron Ralston’s book on the front seat of
his vehicle. He rode his bike around to a place north of Granary Spring,
short of the usual starting place. Who knows where Melvin went next? It
seems he was in the west fork drainage. He didn’t do any rappels then came
to a 3500 foot cliff. He backtracked up and out and headed northeast.
Where did he spend the night?
He didn’t want to go back and ride his bike on the sandy road so he
took off for his car.
Next day he spent wandering in the north part of the west fork,
sometimes coming within a short mile of the main road.. He rimmed out and
found a corral SE1/4, SE1/4, sec33, T27S, R15E. This is 6 miles of hot,
sunny, mostly sand from the car. He spent the 2nd night NE of this corral.
In the morning he started walking toward his car. He sat down two hours to
rest within sight of his car. About 11 am, he walked into the parking lot.
Helo to Moab Hospital.
At the Moab Hospital after noon: Badge 195 (DPS Helo Star 7 pilot
Terry Mercer) flew in with Melvin. He looked absolutely spent. Had to be
helped down out of a helicopter into a wheel chair, with IV dripping. He
was out of it, not sure what was up at the moment. Georgia was a peach. He
went inside to Rouser. I talked to the Emery County Deputies. The pilot
was wondering why I didn’t bring him a hamburger as he sat there eating an
MRE that he had heated up on the turbine engine.
Melvin had water, food, stuff, a GPS (is there route info here?), a
useless map (Kelsey) for precise navigation, a video cam (route info
here?). No hearing aids (couldn’t hear helo?), 2 unopened light sticks.
He is in the hospital with severe kidney problems..
Responders: Wayne County SAR
Emery County SAR
Dog team, horse team, ATV teams
Dept of Public Safety Helicopter
NPS: Jason Ramsdell, Jeff Webb
Planning, Shift Change and Adult Supervision at ARCH:
Karen McJones
GCSAR: Bego
05-57 7-12-05
Dehydrated Bikers SRBT
They called in and said they were so very thirsty and hot and tired
and they were sitting under a tree in the shade. Good choice.
We responded with EMS quickly, remembering the two recent hot
weather deaths.
The guy and son were basically fine, just out of ability to
continue. He was very appreciative and embarrassed. He has been a member
of the Alpine Rescue Team (in Colorado, I think) and some group that
rescues up on Mt. Hood in Oregon. He’s been on the front lines. And he
called us before becoming a statistic. Cool.
We had arranged for 2 helicopters also, just in case things went
sour.
Responders: Curt 1 T 2 Brewer, Corky "Wesley" Brewer.
Rex, Frank, Bego, Cody on his bike, Sam, Aug, Lee
EMTs: Craig,
_____________________
July 15- Extreme Safety on Free Speech Friday, KZMU ( GCSAR was last week
)
Battalion Chief Archie and Captain John of the Fire Department were
featured guests. Outstanding show and commentary on fire safety, the
Anylands Circle anti-drinking campaign for the Junior Prom and prevention
of all sorts of calamity. "It’s hard to measure prevention programs
because how do you measure something that doesn’t happen," said John. You
just have to have faith that you DID reach someone and that’s what makes
it worth it.
------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------remote mountains, high altitude
North Cascades National Park (WA) Three Climbers Die in
Fall Near Sharkfin Tower
At approximately 4:00 pm on Sunday, July 10th, a party of six
climbers attempting Sharkfin Tower in North Cascades National Park
suffered a mountaineering accident resulting in the deaths of three
members of the group. A fourth climber received severe head injuries. The
group was on a trip organized by the Tacoma, Washington, branch of the
Mountaineers, a climbing and hiking club based in Seattle. Sharkfin Tower
is above Boston Basin along the ridge between Forbidden and Boston Peaks
east of the town of Marblemount. While the party was negotiating the
gullies below the granitic cliffs of Sharkfin Tower and above Quien Sabe
Glacier, a rock struck the group leader. Due to this minor injury,
combined with deteriorating weather, the group decided to abandon the
climb and began descending. At the top of a snow- and rock-filled gully
they had earlier ascended on the approach, a rappel was rigged and two
members of the party successfully descended one rope length and began
constructing a second rappel station. Two people in the upper party began
a simul-rappel with the injured member with them. Preliminary accounts
indicate that the large boulder used as the rappel anchor, to which the
fourth member was also tied, broke loose, sending all four and the boulder
down the gully. Two of the climbers died at that time and a third some
time later. The two climbers in mid-gully miraculously avoided injury,
despite one falling 20 feet into a moat. They descended safely to the
gully bottom, and one began descending the glacier alone for help. Another
climbing group nearby, affiliated with Alpine Ascents International, a
commercial permittee in the park, was met on the way, and, using a cell
phone, made a call which led to the park being contacted. A team of park
rangers led by Craig Brouwer and including Alex Brun, Joe Cook and park
volunteer/paramedic Brett Bergeron ascended to the accident scene for
six-and-a-half hours during the night, arriving just before dawn. They
were supported by a team of rangers who carried additional gear to the
base of the glacier in the event of a carryout. At daybreak, the rain had
stopped and the cloud cover lifted enough to allow an Airlift Northwest
medical helicopter to land near the accident scene and transport the
injured climber directly to Harborview Hospital in Seattle. HiLine
Helicopters, operating under contract with the park, then brought out the
remaining two climbers, uninjured but now nearing hypothermic condition.
Rangers Kelly Bush and Kevork Arackellian then joined the rangers on scene
investigating the accident site and recovering the deceased climbers.The
recovery operation and transfer to the Skagit County coroner were
completed around noon. Media attention was extensive from Sunday night
through Monday.
NPS incident commander for the incident was Kelly Bush
XX- XX 7- 15- 05
A ScoutMaster called dispatch to ask where he was (gave
coordinates) and that he was running out of gas. Archie says, "Isn’t that
supposed to be one of those Be Prepared type guys?" He was looking for
Mineral Bottom to meet his canoe trip but was on the Blue Hills Road at
the Dubinky intersection. (A GPS with no map is.......???) Frank talked
him right on the cell phone and the subject called a while later from Arch
View Campground and Gas. Wonder if he ever got to Mineral Bottom???
_____________________
"When you get to the end of a perfect day.........better check again." On
the Sheriff’s coffee cup.
_____________________
05-58 7-22-05 Agency
Assist Search Island in
the Sky Canyonlands NP almost
paged
Score one for Shalla the search dog.
Trina and her friend, from Virginia, came out west for some fun in
the sun. They had been here several days, hiking and goofing off. Thursday
they drove to Upheaval Dome and hiked up to the first overlook. Trina said
she was going to the second overlook while her friend returned to the car.
A search was initiated in the afternoon. Searchers cleared the
Syncline Loop Trail. It got dark and the moon was behind clouds some of
the time. Searchers were out all night.
Trina had gone to the 2nd overlook. It was really hot so she found
a shady overhang nearby. When she got up to hike back, there was no trail
in sight. She ran out of water in the late afternoon. Shortly later it
rained and she drank from the potholes. "I figured a little dirt wouldn’t
hurt me. I was really grateful for the rain" Good choice.
She was up and moving at first light when Shalla came bounding up.
The DPS helo arrived seconds later to video tape the find for the state
legislators who have to do with the funding of the DPS helicopter.
Debrief: Shalla should have been called at sunset the first day.
The cooler the better for dog noses. Black George was the human radio
repeater on Upheaval Dome rim which helped communication immensely.
Jeff Webb was IC.
Responders: Many NPS personnel
GCSAR: Nancy, Shalla, Bego
DPS Helo: Steve Rugg himself
GCSAR Picnic- July 28 Colin Fryer of Red Cliffs Ranch threw a party for
us. Colin is all over the community and is very supportive of the
Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue. Thank you tremendous. Nice river
view.
05-59 7-29-05 River
Rescue New Rapid Colorado
River
"The boat hit a rock and stopped and I didn’t." Into the river he
went without a lifejacket and he got tumbled along the bottom in the rocks
for a few seconds.
The call came in from Robbie at Sorrel River Ranch saying there was
a man lying on the beach across the river, not moving.
Castle Valley First Responders were paged. Ron Mengel and the
Hummer came down. Frank went directly from home to the Ranch to see if we
could launch water craft there.
We responded with two Personal Water Craft that we carried a few
feet over the rocks and mud to the water. Bego and Kent ferried EMTs
across the river. The Rescue Boat was put in at Hittle Bottom. The
CareFlight helicopter was summoned also cuz this guy was reported to have
some weird blood clotting problems. And Robbie brought over a raft to
ferry more help across.
The helicopter landed. All was well. Jim and Duckie ran the Rescue
Boat down to the BLM takeout. There was much help from Sorrel Ranch
personnel. Thank you.
Responders: Kent Green
Frank, Bego, Sam, Jim, Barbara, Duckie, Cody, Lee,
Kris, Mike, Aug
EMTs: Phil Mosher, Kris Betts, Chad Briggs
Injured Climber Evacuated from Lower Saddle Grand
Teton
Rangers evacuated an injured climber from the Lower Saddle of the
Grand Teton by helicopter early on the morning of Monday, July 25th.
Anthony Brandon, 27, of Dubuque, Iowa, slipped on snow and fell
approximately 65 feet while descending the Grand Teton late on Sunday
afternoon. Brandon and three climbing partners reached the summit of the
Grand via the Petzoldt Ridge and were descending the standard route from
the 13,160-foot Upper Saddle when Brandon fell, suffering injuries to his
head and other extremities. Rangers received a cell phone call from Exum
Mountain guide Nat Partridge on Sunday evening at 9 p.m. Partridge had
encountered the injured climber at the Lower Saddle, assessed his
injuries, an suggested contacting rangers for medical assistance. Two
rangers hiked to the 11,600-foot Lower Saddle from the Lupine Meadows
trailhead on the valley floor, arriving on scene around 2 a.m. After
assessing the type and extent of Brandon’s injuries, rangers consulted
with the park’s medical coordinator and made the decision to evacuate
Brandon by a Teton interagency contract helicopter at first light on
Monday morning. The interagency helicopter landed on the Lower Saddle a
6:30 a.m. and transported Brandon to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache,
where a park ambulance was waiting to drive the injured climber to St.
John’s Medical Center in Jackson for additional medical care. Brandon was
wearing a helmet and carrying an ice axe at the time of the fall, but was
unable to self-arrest before plummeting head-first into a boulder field
below the snowfield. This marks the ninth major search and rescue in Grand
Teton National Park this year. [Submitted by Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs
Specialist]
Zion National Park (UT) Rescue Of Injured
Canyoneer
Aaron Johnson of Cedar City, Utah, was successfully rescued from
Telephone Canyon on Saturday, June 16th. At 2:33 p.m., the park received a
report that a 22-year-old man had fallen from Angels Landing. Rangers met
the caller ? Johnson’s wife ? at the Grotto trailhead and learned that he
was actually in Telephone Canyon, a side canyon near the West Rim. The
park’s SAR team flew to the canyon in a contract helicopter and found
Johnson lying in the canyon below the second of the canyon’s 13 rappels.
As a result of a 60-foot, uncontrolled descent while rappelling, Johnson
was suffering from lower back and hip pain and an injured elbow. He was
extracted from the canyon using a Norwegian reeve rope system. This
involved establishing a highline across the canyon, which at that point is
over 100 feet wide, and lowering park medic Cody Cole 150 feet to Johnson
using the reeve. Johnson was stabilized, placed in a litter, and raised to
the rim. He was carried from there to the waiting helicopter, where he was
flown to the Zion Canyon floor at 8:40 p.m., then transported by park
ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George. The rescue took
about six hours to complete and involved the coordinated efforts of 31
members of the park’s SAR team and helitack crew. This marks the third
major rescue in Zion this year. [ K Killian, Canyon Dist]
05-60 7-30-05 Overdue
Biker Klondike Bluffs
Age 32. Eight cups of water. Missing 3 hours. Eric 1 T 15 went to see.
GCSAR was 10-22d cuz some jeepers found the subject and brought him to
Eric at the 2nd gate.
Responders: Frank, Barbara, Lee, Jon, James, Shawn, Jeff
_____________________
maps.google.com
_____________________
05-61 7-31-05 RattleSnake
Bite Determination Towers
This came in to dispatch as "a 40 yom, conscious, breathing,
rattlesnake bite, left thumb, facial swelling, paralysis."
Zane got to the RP first on the Cotter Mine Road. The RP led the
ATVs in to the patient near Determination Towers. Coordinates N38º 39.800
W 109º 44.000 .
CareFlight was launched, ETA 40 minutes. RP on scene. Px had
swollen tongue, rapid pulse, dizzy, lying down, cold compress on forehead,
left arm hot and tingly, labored breathing at 8 breaths per minute.
CareFlight had navigational problems so requested a heading from
Moab Airport, advised SW of airport, helo landed for 38 minutes.
A local Hummer guide picked up a RattleSnake. Hello?
Responders: Frank, Sam, Barbara, Lee, Mike, Aug, Paula, Kris, Cody,
Duckie
Ambulance 501, GCSAR, 801, 1T5, 1 T 17, 1 T 9.
05-62 8-2,3-05 MANHUNT
Matheson Wetlands August 2 and 3, 05
unpaged
A used-to-be-local bad guy ran from the Law into the Wetlands. A
manhunt ensued. Big.
Tracking & dog teams, State Boating Rangers patrolling on the
Colorado River, SWAT team, BLM Helo, perimeter stakeouts. In the morning,
the DPS helo (Steve Rugg getting some redrocks time) with the FLIR and
video. CERT was called to go door to door to tell folks to lock their
doors and cars. On the web: <corrections.utah.gov> and click on most
wanted. He’s there.
John Flahie in the Command Post keeping track of everyone. Nice.
IC and Command Staff always with a plan A and B. Nice.
_____________________
Rescue Work: "Think quickly on your feet, look at the
big picture and adapt." Rex Tanner
_____________________
05-63 8-5-05 Technical
Rock Rescue of 13 yr old girl who went off a 100 foot cliff on an ATV
OK, today we saw a miracle......... she is alive
What we got was that a girl on an ATV just went over a hundred foot
cliff. The initial radio traffic suggested this incident was out by
Chicken Corners. We thot for a moment to put the rescue boat on the River
cuz that 100 foot cliff would be accessible from the river.
Louis raced out there to discover she fell to the bottom of a steep
gully just barely west of Hurrah Pass. There was a passer-by Coast Guard
paramedic and the parents with her. Our EMTs scrambled down the gully. The
CareFlight helo landed just around the corner.
The vertical walls of the gully were way too loose and dangerous to
haul her up that way. We rigged to bring her straight up the loose. blocky
gully. Load rope and belay rope came up from the bottom, over the edge
pro, thru 2 big 4"pulleys attached to the Bronco axle and to Rex’s back
bumper. We would pull her up using the vehicle. Tandem prussiks were
rigged on both ropes at the pulleys. Why not?
Jason attached himself to the litter in the NPS way. Six other
rescuers scrambled up as the litter was raised, helping Jason all the way.
The gully was high enuff angle to require rope haulage but low enuff angle
that other rescuers could scramble up. San Juan team arrived in time to
help haul the litter up over the top edge to the road. She was then flown
to Grand Junction.
Three 1/2 hours from page out to patient in the helicopter with
nearly an hour drive time. Cool.
Next day report said she had broken bones but no neural damage. She said
she was asleep when she went off the road. Ashley was discharged from
hospital the next evening !
On the rescuers part: Teamwork.
Responders: San Juan County: Mike Harris, Grayson Red, bunch of
guys
GCSAR: Rex, Bego, Sam, Frank, Lee, Kris, Duckie, Cody,
Barbara
NPS: Jason Ramsdell, CRISTA
GCSO: Louis Manson took a lot of great photos
Rescue Of Seriously Injured Rappeller Great Smoky
Mountains National Park
At around 2:30 p.m. on the afternoon of July 25th, Adam Holenberg,
23, was rappelling from a cliff above Rainbow Falls in the Cherokee
Orchard area when he fell approximately 30 feet, sustaining serious
injuries. Holenberg had hiked three miles in to the falls, scrambled to
the top, then solo rappelled down the face of the 80-foot-high cliff. He
employed a very small (9mm diameter) rope with an anchor and
figure eight descending device. Witnesses said that he took very
long bounds down the cliff, shock-loading the system, and that he was
two-thirds of the way down the cliff when the rope severed and he
fell about 30 feet to the boulder field at the bottom of the cliff.
Bystanders employed a cell phone to call for assistance. Rangers arrived
on scene by 5 p.m. Park medics stabilized Holenberg and the rescue team
conducted a semi-technical rescue operation to remove him from the boulder
field and get him down to the trail surface. He was then evacuated by
wheeled litter to an ambulance at the trailhead. Holenberg suffered a
fractured femur, fractured vertebra in the lower back, and a fractured
wrist. The investigation revealed that the rope was military surplus
Kevlar material and that there was a melted/frayed cut where it
crossed over a sharp rock edge during Holenberg’s rappel. [Submitted
by Rick Brown, District Ranger]
Comments: It is not possible to do more things wrong than this guy
did. However, if you have the correct descending device on the correct
rope, a bombproof anchor and no sharp edges and tons of rappelling
experience, a big, bounding rappel can be fun. Just buy your own ropes.
"They do it in the movies."
05-64 8-19-05 Search
Mineral Canyon Road - HorseThief Ranch
She got out of her friend’s truck by the side of the dirt road out
to Mineral Bottom. She was sure it was the right place and it would be a
short walk in to the ranch house. Full moon.
Her ride had marked the spot where she departed and alerted
authorities. Shawn went out looking on the myriad dirt road spurs until
daylight. We were paged about 6:30 am.
Some of us looked for sign along the main road while others checked
out all the spur roads on ATVs. It took awhile for Lee’s ATVs to find her
tracks leading away in to the desert. Off went three trackers.
Her trail was very crooked, over hill and dale. Found where she
tried to light a fire. After awhile, she took to a dirt road. This was in
The Big Draw, a tributary of Taylor Canyon. Parallel to the Mineral Road
and over the hill 2 miles to the south. It does connect back to the
Mineral Road but much farther out there. Nice place to hike.
About noon, she had found a pothole full of water, drank it and sat
down in the shade to rest.
A bit later, we arrived. She was scared and grateful. Sam drove in,
took us all back to IC.
Steve White was on deck to be IC in Ops Period 2.
Responders: Frank, TBerry, Mike, Bego, Sam, Lee, Cody, Dave,
Barbara, Jeff, Cody, Shawn
NPS: Andrew Fitzgerald
EXTREME SAFETY picnic at the City Park
Hooray for Bruce Hucko and all the other folks from the Extreme
Safety- Voices of Youth thing.
GCSAR, Fire Department, EMS and the Park Service did good. We
constructed a litter rig with a 3 to 1 mechanical advantage slung up over
a tree branch. This and a litter with wheel became the kid’s rides and
entertainment. Craig Hauke toured the kids thru the ambulance.
Catered by Golden Stake. Salsa Brava played music.
Responders: Jim, Lee, Dave, Barbara, Jon, Paula, Bego, Aug
05-65 8-25-05 ATV Accident
White Wash Sand Dunes
ATV rollover with head, back and neck injuries. The Marlboro
Adventure Team put a doctor quickly on scene. He radioed his people who
called Dispatch.
Shawn, 1 T 502 and Thompson First Responders answered the page and
soon got there. Careflight couldn’t make it so coordinates were given to
Classic Lifeguard out of Page. They arrived and departed 40 minutes later
while we all watched from the "west rim" of the Dunes area.
Responders: Sam, Cody, James M., Lee, Bego, Jeff
BLM: James 13B62
The BAD idea- I responded as OIC from Professor Valley Ranch in a
truck with no radio so all I could do for a half hour was listen on my
handset. I’ll never do that again. The good side of this is that everyone
responded just right anyway.
The GOOD idea by 13B62 was to act as radio relay from the incident
to the SO by parking up "on the hill" overlooking the dunes area. Car to
car was used but GCSAR channel may better for us. The satellite phone was
used to get some info to the SO also.
_____________________
From Red Rock Elementary Skool: The Five Guidelines to
Success
1.) Be Responsible 2.) Always Try
3.) Do Your Best
4.) Cooperate With Others 5.) Treat People and
Property With Respect
_____________________
05-66 8- 8-05 Broken
Knee Negro Bill Canyon
Fay and Larry hiked up to Morning Glory Arch where Larry proposed
marriage to Fay. Shortly later, she slipped on a rock by the creek and
dislocated her knee and possibly injured her tibia. Larry ran out to the
River Road, called 911 and ran back up the canyon to his fiance.
We packed up the light weight litter, backboard kit and the new
Cascade wheel. And wheeled her out, which is not that easy. She was
hurting in spite of morphine. Larry helped us a lot.
Responders: Bego, Sam, Dave, Barbara, Lee, James Mc, Cody, James
3A82
Comments: The new Cascade Wheel did just fine, even in the sand.
It’s narrowness made it much easier to get thru the tight spots in the
boulders. It is 4 inches higher which is GOOD altho some said it seemed
more tippy sideways. It is sooo much easier to carry up a trail.
EMTs: Summer and James
05-67 8-28-05
Dehydrated Biker SRBT
She wanted just Search and Rescue to come get her husband. We said
we don’t do that with out bringing EMTs with us. Two minutes later she
called back to say yes.
The husband ran out of water and his tire went flat. He was too
dehydrated to walk his bike out.
We sent in a Ranger. He was dry enuff for the EMTs to start an IV.
Responders: John, Sam, Mike, James Mc
EMTs: Craig, John , Margy
05-68 8-30-05 Missing
Person Red Cliffs Ranch
Reggie came from the Phillipines to participate with the Marlboro
Adventure Team. After 2 weeks of riding, hiking, boating and fun they had
a farewell party Harley’s Ranch. At 1:30 am, the participants were taken
from the party to Red Cliffs Lodge so they could shower and pack up to
catch their shuttle to Grand Jct at 3 am. Reggie stepped outside for a
cigarette around 2:30 am. When the shuttle arrived at 3 am, he had
vanished.
Deputy Chapman went out to the Ranch to interview various people.
GCSAR paged at 10:39 hrs.
Steve 1 T 7 White became Incident Commander. Kim 1 T 6 worked with
the interpreter Jennifer. We searched the riparian thickets of Tamarisk
several times and the vacant rooms. Nancy and search dog Shalla were
called out. Shalla had some hits at the end of the building. We put
JetSkis and our Rescue Boat on the Colorado River.
Investigators talked with the other team members and relatives in
the Phillipines. No motive to disappear surfaced. He was described as a
good, happy guy with wife, kids and business back home.
Nothing all day.
Early the next morning Jennifer the interpreter told us that Reggie
had made a phone call, from where?, to his cousin in the Phillipines
saying he was fine and with a friend and then he hung up. Investigators
started checking that out but it’s not easy cuz the Phillipines are 14
hours ahead. Noon Tuesday here is 2 am Wednesday there making the business
days almost opposite.
Meanwhile, searchers continued their task, just in case. The
Command Post was set up, thanks to Sam. Shalla followed scent that led up
the entrance road to the hiway. A team was ferried across the river and a
team hiked up in the hills and gullys to the south of Hwy 128.
Nothing all day.
The investigation continues as this goes to press (9- 2- 05). The
INS is involved.
Responders:
Tuesday- Bego, Sam, Lee, Frank, Ducky, Dave, Barbara, Nancy and
Shalla, Margy, James Mon
GCSO- Steve 7 (IC), Kim 6 Investigations,
Shawn 12
NPS- 007 Black George, Jeff, Jacob
Wednesday- Bego, Sam, Margy, Nancy, Shalla Kris, Ducky, Barbara,
Dave, Mike, James Mc, Lee
GCSO- Steve IC, Rena dispatcher, Kim 6,
Louis 8, Shawn 12
NPS- Andrew C523, Bruce C144, Lee A232,
Jacob A225
MFD- Capt. John Flahie, Logistics
DPS Star 7 Helicopter with Steve Rugg
(Shawn, John and Duckie flew)
_____________________
"Expect the unexpected." Larry Van Slyke