Woman dies after falling off cliff while hiking in Sevier County
SEVIER COUNTY, Utah — A woman fell to her death Sunday afternoon while hiking in central Utah.
According to the Sevier County Sheriff's Office, 26-year-old Candice Thompson was hiking with her husband around 1 p.m. in an area known as "Bulls Head," located west of Richfield, when she fell off a cliff. She fell an estimated 75-100 feet.
First responders attempted lifesaving measures before she was taken to Sevier Valley Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
"While the investigation is ongoing, evidence at the scene indicates the fall was an accident and foul play is not suspected," the sheriff's office wrote in a press release.
Chief Trent Lloyd with Richfield City Police wrote in a Facebook post Monday evening that Thompson was a member of the "department family" her whole life. Her dad was an officer, and now her husband is as well.
The last couple of days have been heartbreaking for our department family," the post read in part. "To say that there is a hole in our hearts today is just simply understated because there is just no words."
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
A Nevada woman who went missing last week in Lake Mead is the same woman who was rescued just a month earlier after being reported missing in Northern Nevada, a Lake Mead spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
Gayle Stewart, 64, was last seen on March 14 in the Bypass Bridge parking area near Hoover Dam, according to a March 17 news release. She had been in the area to take photos, officials said, but did not return to her vehicle.
On Feb. 14, Stewart was reported missing in Reno after leaving her house and not returning. She was later rescued after she was found on a "steep slope," the Reno Fire Department said at the time.
Lake Mead officials said she did not have her phone or identification with her when she went missing. There were no updates as of Thursday, a spokesperson said.
Grizzly bear suspected in man's death near Yellowstone national park
Craig Clouatre, 40, had been missing since Wednesday after leaving for a hiking trip
A Montana man who went missing while hiking earlier this week was killed in a suspected encounter with a grizzly bear north of Yellowstone national park, authorities said Friday.
The victim was identified as Craig Clouatre, 40, of Livingston. No details were provided on where he was found or why a grizzly bear was believed responsible for his death.
Search teams on the ground and in helicopters had been looking for Clouatre after he went hiking on Wednesday morning with a friend, possibly to hunt for antlers, and was reported overdue that day, according to the sheriff. The search began that night concentrated on the Six Mile Creek area of the Absaroka Mountains, located about 30 miles (48km) south of Livingston, Montana.
"They split up at some point later in the morning," Park County Sheriff Brad Bichler told the Livingston Enterprise. "When the other man returned to their vehicle and his friend wasn't there, he called us and we began searching."
Authorities were working Friday to return Clouatre's body to his family, Bichler said in a social media post.
Clouatre's father told the Associated Press that the victim grew up in Massachusetts and moved more than two decades ago to Montana, where Clouatre met his future wife, Jamie, and decided to make a home.
"He was a joy to have as a son all the way around," David Clouatre said. "He was a good man, a good, hardworking family man."
The mountains in the area where Craig Clouatre died rise steeply above the Yellowstone River as it passes through the Paradise Valley. Dense forests at higher elevations are home to bears and other wildlife, although dangerous encounters with people are relatively rare.
Clouatre frequented those mountains and others around the park, hiking in summer and ice climbing in winter when he wasn't home with his wife and their four young children, said Anne Tanner, a friend of the victim.
"It just makes me angry that something like this could happen to such a good person," said Tanner. "Of all the men I know, I can't believe he would die in the wilderness. He was so strong and he was so smart."
Since 2010, grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have killed at least eight people.
Among them was a backcountry guide killed by a bear last year along Yellowstone's western border. Guide Charles "Carl" Mock was killed in April after being mauled by a 400-plus pound (181-plus kilogram) male grizzly while fishing alone at a favorite spot on Montana's Madison River, where it spills out of the park.
Grizzlies are protected under federal law outside Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to lift protections and allow grizzly hunting.
The Yellowstone region spanning portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has more than 700 bears. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but have increased in recent decades as the grizzly population grew and more people moved into rural areas near bear habitat.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Thomas Howard. Photo courtesy of New York State Police
By Gwendolyn Craig
A 63-year-old Connecticut hiker, who went missing in the Adirondack Park High Peaks, was found deceased Friday morning, state police and Department of Environmental Conservation officials said.
Thomas Howard, a Yale-educated economist from Westport, Conn., was reported missing on March 16 after he had left for a hiking trip on March 11 in the Town of North Elba, according to a news release.
Officials located his car on Wednesday at the Adirondack Mountain Club's Adirondack Loj parking lot. Howard had signed in at the trail register stating his destination was Mount Colden via the Trap Dike. He anticipated returning on Sunday, March 13.
The Trap Dike has been the site of many emergency responses. Christopher Kostoss, Region 5 forest ranger captain, told the Adirondack Explorer in August that there is debate on whether the Trap Dike route is a hike or a rock climb. It is considered a Class 4 climb in the guidebook Adirondack Rock. Rescues there require technical equipment and expertise on the 4,715-foot High Peak.
"Either way, a fall or accident in the Trap Dike could mean a long duration rescue event and, worst case, could prove to be fatal," Kostoss said.
An aerial photo of the Trap Dike on Mount Colden. Photo by Carl Heilman II
New York State Police Aviation and DEC forest rangers used several means to search for Howard on Wednesday including air, sled and foot operations. Also assisting were DEC's Emergency Management Unit, New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and trained rescue climbers, according to a news release.
Niece Jessica Paar described her uncle as an avid outdoorsman, particularly enjoying hiking and camping. Married with two daughters, he received a doctorate from Yale University and also graduated from Dartmouth College where he studied applied mathematics. His LinkedIn resume listed his experience in macro, energy and finance economics and skills in forecasting, econometrics and data analysis.
Paar said the Adirondack search and rescue efforts by the rangers and the response from the local community, from coffee shop operators to lodging owners, was much appreciated.
"The Howard family wishes to express their gratitude to the community and the searchers for their support," the news release said. "The family asks for privacy as they grieve the loss of their loved one."
The DEC and State Police did not provide more details on how Howard died or if he was found in the area of the Trap Dike.
Editors note: A previous version of this story included a State Police bulletin with Howard's age as 61. He was 63.
James M. Odato contributed to this report.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Search and Rescue Crews Find One Boater Alive and Another Deceased on Toledo Bend
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents are investigating a fatal boating incident that occurred in Sabine Parish on March 4.
The body of Alfred D. Jackson, 52, of Lake Charles, was recovered from Toledo Bend around 6 p.m. on March 4.
Search and rescue crews from LDWF, Sabine Parish Sheriff's Office and Texas Parks and Wildlife received a call around 3 p.m. on March 4 about two men that were in the water after their vessel sank.
The crews immediately began searching the area. Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel found the men in the water around 6 p.m. with one of them still alive. The survivor was brought to the shore and airlifted to a Shreveport Hospital for severe hypothermia. Jackson's body was turned over to the Sabine Parish Coroner's Office to determine an official cause of death.
LDWF will be the lead investigative agency for this fatal boating incident. The men were in a 20 foot vessel when high winds caused high waves that swamped their boat causing it to sink. Both men were found wearing personal flotation devices.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Due to conditions, rescue crews made the difficult decision to leave the deceased climber on the mountain
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – One climber died and another was critically injured after falling 200 feet on Mount Hood, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office said the search-and-rescue mission for the two hikers began Sunday and lasted into Monday. They said the climbers were in the Leuthold Couloir area of Mount Hood when they fell shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday.
The rescue mission encountered challenging conditions while working to reach the two people. Crews encountered deep snow and avalanche conditions, with winds blowing between 50 and 70 mph.
There were at least two natural-release avalanche events on Mount Hood on Monday, the second day of the search.
The Leuthold Couloir is a long, steep chute on the west side of the mountain.
Both climbers suffered injuries in the fall. One of the injured climbers was able to call 911 using a cell phone and used a Garmin inReach device to notify an emergency contact.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office set up a command center at Timberline Lodge. They were assisted by volunteer search teams from Portland Mountain Rescue, the Hood River Crag Rats, and Mountain Wave Emergency Communications.
Sunday night, rescuers tried crossing the upper Reid Glacier and climbing the couloir to reach the injured climbers, but they were unsuccessful. The strong winds were knocking rescuers off their feet and blowing heavy sheets of snow, creating a dangerous avalanche risk.
By 11:40 Sunday, the first climbing team made it to within 700 feet of the two people, but could not reach them due to the conditions. They had to turn back due to the heightened avalanche danger in the area.
The Oregon Office of Emergency Management could not deploy a military helicopter to assist with the rescue that night due to the altitude and weather conditions.
By daybreak Monday, the operation expanded to include additional search and rescue members from Portland Mountain Rescue, the Crag Rats, Mountain Wave, AMR's Reach and Treat Team, the 304th Rescue Squadron, the Hood River County Sheriff's Office, Clackamas County Search & Rescue, Corvallis Mountain Rescue, and the Oregon Army National Guard.
Improved visibility on Monday allowed a team of rescuers to reach the two climbers. They had to summit the mountain and then descend the west side to the fallen climbers' position above the Hourglass bottleneck at the top of the Leuthold Couloir.
When they reached the climbers, they discovered one of them was dead. The second climber was in critical condition.
Due to the severe avalanche hazard and poor conditions, rescuers decided to leave the deceased person on the mountain. They plan to conduct a recovery mission when conditions improve.
The second climber was evacuated off the mountain late in the day Monday. The climber arrived at Timberline at approximately 6:50 p.m. and was taken by paramedics and EMTs to a hospital for treatment.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
Humphrey's Trail No. 151 (Credit: U.S. Forest Service)
COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. - A New York man was rescued twice in two days after first getting lost and then injured while hiking on a northern Arizona mountain range.
According to the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, the 28-year-old Brooklyn man called 911 just before 7 p.m. on March 2 saying that he was lost while hiking north of Flagstaff on Humphrey's Trail in the San Francisco Peaks.
As a search and rescue team was responding, the man reported that he found the trail and was hiking downhill.
"Search and rescue coordinated with Arizona Snowbowl snowcats that were working on Hart Prairie to locate and pick up the victim and deliver him to the Agassiz Lodge parking lot where search and rescue personnel met him to ensure he did not need any medical attention," the sheriff's office said.
The man told rescue crews that he started his hike at 2:30 p.m. that day "and encountered conditions that were more difficult than he expected." The man was concerned about being able to get back to the trailhead, so he called 911.
The next day, the same man called 911 at 5 p.m. near Humphrey's Saddle saying that he was off the trail and injured. Another hiker was able to provide aid while search and rescue crews responded.
Due to weather and the man's location, an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter was requested. The helicopter located the injured man and flew him to the parking lot near Humphrey's Trailhead.
The man refused further medical attention. He said he started his hike that day at 9:30 a.m. and made it above the saddle on his way to the summit before turning around due to high winds.
"On his descent he got off trail and fell causing an injury," the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office reminds hikers to research their plans, including the weather forecast and current trail conditions.
"The subject was provided with preventative search and rescue education about the conditions on the trail and the approaching winter storm and encouraged to not attempt the hike again," the sheriff's office said.
The man's name was not released.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
She looked at her phone and realized its battery was nearly depleted. Brown and her dog Annie were about to be stranded in the Bisti Wilderness area on Feb. 27, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico said.
"That evening, as her phone battery was about to die, she sent her husband and friends a text with her coordinates and let them know she was in a wash and was starting a fire," deputies said.
Brown told KOB 4 she wasn't planning to be gone very long when she left her home at about 9 a.m. That night, her phone battery was only at 4%, the news outlet reported.
However, Brown was prepared with a survival kit to survive the night, the sheriff's office said. She made a fire to keep her and her dog warm overnight, KRQE reported.
"I heated rocks up in the fire and put them on the core of my stomach and on my feet and everything like that," Brown told KOB 4. "I was more scared for the dog."
In the morning, rescuers dispatched to Brown's location. She saw a helicopter overhead and knew she needed to get to a higher location.
Brown hiked to higher ground and waved a piece of clothing in the air for the helicopter crew to find her. Rescuers found her about an hour into their search, deputies said.
The hiker told KOB 4 her knowledge of survival television shows helped keep her calm during the night.
"I've seen a lot of survivals shows," she told the news station. "I knew, 'don't panic, and you got to do this.'"
Brown was flown to a nearby parking lot where she was checked by medics. She only complained of being cold and had no injuries.
Deputies did not say if the dog was injured.
Maddie Capron is a McClatchy Real-Time News Reporter focused on the outdoors and wildlife in the western U.S. She graduated from Ohio University and previously worked at CNN, the Idaho Statesman and Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism.
Jason @BeardedOverland www.beardedadv.blogspot.com
