Another family suffers loss in harsh winter conditions
A Black Hawk helicopter, from the Warren Air Force Base, leaves the Incident Command staging area on HWY 70, heading south to assist the ground teams already in the field. The crew on-board provided a portable radio to Incident Command, allowing communication with the helicopter.
Brian Bock and Rory Simonson Jr., of South Dakota, were located by Carbon County Search and Rescue volunteers after spending two nights out in winter conditions last week.
Meanwhile, another search was underway in the Snowy Range, headed by Albany County, which went until Jan. 19 when searchers rescued a 18-year-old son and recovered his mother's body. The woman was 46.
According to a press release from the Carbon County Sheriff's Office, undersheriff Archie Roybal was notified by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office in Walden, Colo. on Jan. 17 requesting assistance finding Bock and Simonson. According to Roybal, the two men had been out on snowmobiles and had left the party of at least eight others. The men left the party, and communication ceased.
Carbon County Search and Rescue requested the help of a Black Hawk helicopter out of the Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne to find Bock and Simonson. The helicopter crew, under command of Major Brodingham, was instrumental in locating the men, who were found alive in the Commissary Park area west of Encampment. Deputy Justin Hale was the incident commander.
Roybal praised the volunteers that helped on the search, adding that many are experienced riders and searchers. Without tremendous volunteer assistance, these efforts would not be possible.
Carbon County Search and Rescue Members include Cory Nuhn, Lester Thompson, Colton Miller, Bruce Romios, Will Ryan, Rob Streeter, Pat Waliser, Bub Barkhurst, Reggie Forster, Chuck McVey, Andrew Hytrek and Roy Barber. U.S. Forest Service employees Hanna Nadeau and Tyler Christen joined volunteers as well.
Volunteers mobilized again on Jan. 19 when Albany County Search and Rescue, who had begun searching for a missing family on Jan. 17, called for assistance. However, at approximately 8 a.m., shortly after Carbon County mobilized, the son, 18, was found and it was determined that the mother was deceased, according to a press release from the Albany County Sheriff's Office.
The pair was part of a family of three from Cheyenne that had been snowmobiling west of the Green Rock parking area off of HWY 130, the press release said. One of three snowmachines was rendered inoperable on Jan. 16, and the family dug a snow cave to spend the night. The father went for help after hearing other snowmobilers on Jan. 17, taking one of the remaining snowmobiles.
According to Albany County Undersheriff Robert J. Debree, the father experienced whiteout conditions after leaving the rest of the party and submerged the machine in a body of water. When that snowmachine was no longer usable, he took the final snowmachine to find help, the press release said. In whiteout conditions still, he collided with something and broke the handlebars of the third snowmachine.
The father built another snow cave and spent the night on Jan. 17. He was located by search teams the following morning. Rescue teams were sent to the general area of his location, but ground blizzards prevented further search efforts. When the remaining family members were discovered on Jan. 19, the son was transported immediately to Ivinson Memorial Hospital, and then to a Colorado area hospital for further care, the press release said.
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