Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Missouri man rescued from Weminuche Wilderness

Smoke from man’s campfire seen by air rescue team after 10 days

La Plata County Search and Rescue rescued a man lost in the Weminuche Wilderness by helicopter Saturday morning.

The team members spotted a smoke plume from the fire the 59-year-old man from Missouri had built in Chicago Basin near Trinity Lake from the air, said mission coordinator Ron Corkish.

The man, who was not identified by authorities, had been in the wilderness for 10 days.

He was unharmed, but hungry, Corkish said

“He just wanted a greasy hamburger,” Corkish said.

The man had been prepared for about a week of camping, but he had lost the trail before the snowstorm earlier in the week, Corkish said.

Fortunately, the man had a tent and sleeping bag with him to help get him through the storm that left 4 to 8 inches of snow on the ground, Corkish said.

The search and rescue team was first notified about the missing man Thursday, a week after he left on the trip, by out-of-state family members who hadn’t heard from him.

The man had also been expected to be back at work on Friday.

The team knew the man got off the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad at Needleton on Oct. 1 to go hiking, but the search and rescue team did not know where he was headed, Corkish said.

Through interviews with the man’s friends on Friday, the team found out that he had intended to go up Needle Creek to the east and into Chicago Basin. From there, he was likely to go west down Elk Creek to Elk Park to catch the train.

On Saturday morning, the helicopter team found him near this area at about 11,820 feet.

“When he heard the helicopter is when he really stoked up his fire and created a plume that was visible to the pilot,” Corkish said.

If the helicopter hadn’t come, the man was planning to head for the train station Saturday, even though he was not exactly sure of his location.

“He wasn’t real versed in Colorado topography,” Corkish said.

Even though he had never been to Colorado before this trip, the man did come prepared with quality gear and was really driven to get out alive.

“It’s a huge win ... I’ve been doing this 28 years. It just hits you like the first time when you have a find like this,” Corkish said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



Reader Comments