The La Plata County Mounted Patrol assisted with two rescues last week – one east of Bayfield and the other northeast of Durango.
The first rescue occurred about 3 p.m. July 3 when a man rolled an all-terrain vehicle down a mountainside while trying to turn it around about five miles into the HD Mountains in the Spring Creek area.
He and his wife were not injured, but they called 911 to ask for assistance, said Tom McNamara, with La Plata County Search and Rescue.
Search-and-rescue members tried to guide them out while talking to them periodically by telephone, but the Florida couple eventually determined they were unable to walk any farther, McNamara said.
The mounted patrol was asked to meet the couple and return them to their vehicle, he said.
“Their ability with using horses and ATVs can really supplement the work that the rest of search and rescue crews do because it enables them to move farther and faster,” McNamara said.
The mounties returned Saturday to the area to retrieve the ATV, said Jon Schuetz, a member and spokesman for the patrol.
The mounted patrol was called into action again Saturday to rescue a 27-year-old man who had a severely sprained ankle at City Reservoir in the Weminuche Wilderness, northeast of Durango.
The rescue took 14 hours.
The mounted patrol recently celebrated its second anniversary. The group split from the Colorado Mounted Rangers after a disagreement with the statewide organization.
shane@durangoherald.com