At 1200 hours the Team was called for a mutual aid request from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office for a possibly missing or injured 58-year-old male hiker traveling from Devils Postpile to Lake Tahoe. The subject was carrying a satellite tracking device, and his wife was monitoring his progress remotely.
At approximately 1830 hours on Friday August 18, the subject's wife noted the subject's InReach device had ceased moving. At approximately 0430 hours on Saturday August 19, the subject's wife noted that the device still had not moved. It was determined that the device had registered a top speed of 28 miles per hour and was sending a signal near the base of some cliffs. The SOS function on the device had not been activated.
The Madera County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from CHP helicopter H40, but shortly after arriving in the seach area H40 was reportedly called to other duties. Madera then requested mutual aid from the Mono County Sheriff’s Office, and the Team was called out, and staged at Minaret Vista.
Helicopter from Lemoore Naval Air Station searching for subject. Image by J. Lipman
Lemoore Naval Air Station was also contacted and accepted the mission, agreeing to send a Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk derivative. While the helo was on the way, two field teams with 8 personnel departed for the subject’s last reported position.
Field Team 2 leaving Agnew Meadows Trailhead. Image by J. Lipman
Field Team 2 just below Shadow Lake. Image by J. Lipman
Field Team 1 was a hasty team tasked with traveling to the reported coordinates as quickly as possible, and Field Team 2 followed behind with additional gear and the direction to interview other hikers on the trail, campers alongside the trail, and campers in the vicinity of Ediza Lake.
Field Team 2 arriving at Ediza Lake. Image by J. Lipman
Approximately 3.5 hours after leaving base Team 1 arrived at the coordinate location, and the subject was found deceased below a steep rock headwall above Iceberg Lake. Darkness was approaching, and all field teams were directed to return to base. The location and outcome were reported to a representative of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
Later that evening, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office again requested mutal aid assistance in the recovery of the subject. On Sunday August 20 two team members were on their way to Minaret Vista to meet CHP helicopter H40 for a mission to extract the subject, but H40 had to cancel the mission due to low visibility in the area, especially at Minaret Vista.
On Monday August 21 the Madera County Sheriff’s Office again called the Mono County Sheriff’s Office to request mutual aid to recover the subject. CHP H40 was unable to fly on Monday due to weather, but on Tuesday August 22 CHP H40 landed at Minaret Vista at 0814 hours, loaded two team members and gear, and flew to Iceberg Lake where they landed and shut down.
Mono SAR field team departing Minaret Vista for subject extraction. Image by B. Beck
The field team ascended the slope to the subject, packaged him in a Sked litter, and lowered him with a rope system approximately 300 feet down a boulder field and a snowfield. The pilot, flight officer, the subject, and both members of the field team boarded the helo with their rescue gear and flew back to Minaret Vista. Both team members offloaded, and H40 flew directly to Madera with the subject for delivery to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The operation terminated at 1212 hours on Tuesday August 22.
Preparing to approach the subject location above Iceberg Lake (frozen in the background). Image by C Brownlee
Building an anchor to lower the subject. Image by C. Brownlee
IC: Gillespie, Salazar Ops Leaders: Bush, Beck, Thompson Responders: Pavlovsky, Baron, Dickau, Kaufman, Wilson, Wallace, Brownlee, Irving-Ruffing, Anderson, Lipman, Huizingh, Senior, Hunsinger, Shelov, Torrence, Salay, Cucura.