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Search for Lost hiker in the Goat RocksLewis, WA Mission Report by Rick Wire A page from state DEM came at about 2230 Thursday June 9, 2005 requesting TMRU send a team to search for a lost hiker in the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area. Rick Wire, Tim Greminger, Greg Lang and Tyler Severy responded to meet at the airstrip in Packwood at 0830. After meeting at the Cache at 0600 Rick, Greg and Tyler headed to Packwood, picking up Tim on the way. The Team arrived at the airstrip at 0815 and the Lewis County Sheriff gave a debriefing The subject was Israel Lax, 17 who had been missing from camp for a day and a half. The PLS was just South and West of Cispus Pass. TMRU with a member of Volcano Rescue (Mitch) were assigned search zone 3 (team 3), which was from Cispus Pass down eight miles on the North East side of the Kilickitat River. Where they were to pick up a road and call for a ride back to base. This is the same drainage where Rainier 1 and TMRU recovered a lost Boy Scout a number of years ago and was known to be difficult traveling once in the main drainage. Zone 4 (team 4) was assigned to a group from OMR and two others (I don’t know what group). At about 0900 an Army Reserve Blackhawk arrived to transport teams 3 and 4 to near Cispus Pass. After a debriefing from the crew the teams loaded and were transported to an LZ at about 6200 feet and ¾ miles from Cispus Pass. After a brief discussion with Team 4 we agreed to search to Cispus pass and then search the North end of the basin until we hit the river then start searching the NE side of the drainage. Team 3 headed for the pass, and split up to search the basin. Rick and Greg went up the ridge to the base of Goat Citadel. Tyler, Tim and Mitch went down and covered the lower portion of the basin. After searching the basin Rick, Greg and Tyler met up at the far side of the Basin. Tim and Mitch met up with Team 4. At this time the subject was found in another area. Since it was easier to hike up to the Pacific Crest Trail than hike the 8 miles of the river drainage team 3 started climbing up towards the original LZ, which was near the trail. The terrain was mostly class 1 with some areas of class 2-3 steep dirt. Before heading up to the LZ, Tim and Mitch identified another potential LZ down low in the basin where they had been. On the way up Tim, who was in communication with base, informed us a helicopter was due to arrive at about 1440 at the original LZ. The Blackhawk picked up Team 3 as well as members of the subject’s party and transported them out. Tim informed the Blackhawk crew of the LZ lower in the basin where they later picked-up members from Team 4. The subject was reportedly found in good condition about a mile and a half down from the PLS, which was in the drainage just south of Cispus pass. After being found he was escorted out to the search base at Walupt Lake. We returned to the Cache at about 2000 |
