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Hunters caught in snow storm
By Kevin Walker
Being that
this was the first major snow storm of the
season, we were not surprised when we were
notified of a second search mission as we were
just finishing one in the San Jacinto Mountains.
The call was for two hunters overdue from a deer
hunting trip in the Santa Rosa Indian
Reservation.
It was decided
that it would be advantageous to use a
helicopter, and make an initial search of the
area by air. So after catching a quick breakfast,
RMRU members cleared from the previous mission
went to Camp Maranatha to await the arrival of
the helicopter. Just as someone commented that it
was 9:00, off in the distance we could hear the
familiar high pitched, "chop-chop' of Don
Landells helicopter. It was decided that fellow
team member Jim Garvey and I would ride with Don
to make the initial search. So, without any waste
of time Jim and I climbed into Don's turbine
powered Bell Jet Ranger, and were off for the
Santa Rosa Mountains.
Upon reaching
the search area we were surprised to find about a
foot of snow on the ground, with drifts up to
three feet. We were hopeful when we spotted the
hunters car parked in front of a locked gate. But
after hovering directly over the car and no
response from inside we moved on up the road.
Only after about five more minutes of flying, we
were pleased when we saw two men carrying rifles
walking down the road. So with a quick landing by
Don, Jim climbed out and went down to the two
very puzzled men. Upon questioning them, Jim
looked back at Don and I, and nodded in an
affirmative manner. Don then told me that he
could move the two men down to their car, and
then come back and get Jim and I. I then got out
of the chopper and went down to Jim and the two
men and gave the hunters all the warnings about
helicopters, mainly, keep your head low. We then
loaded the hunters into the chopper, and Don was
off. The bird was only gone for five minutes, but
it would have taken the two men most of the day
to reach their car. While the bird was gone, Jim
related to me what he had been told by the two
men. They had started Friday before the storm
arrived, and had left their car at the locked
gate, and continued up the dirt road. When the
storm hit, they found an abandoned cabin and
stayed there till Sunday morning when the storm
subsided. They then started down the road, and
that is when we came in.
Upon Don's
return, we headed back to the two men's car to
see if they had it started. With steam coming out
of the tail pipe, we headed back to complete one
more task. And that was to see if there was any
hikers in need of aid due to the heavy snow.
After making a quick check of the San Jacinto
high country, all of the hikers we saw, had good
equipment, and were going about their way in a
normal manner.
Once back at
base we were informed that the two hunters had
made it out to the highway. With that, Don headed
back to his home, and the rest of us soon did the
same.
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