71097 109171759123676 3388684 n

(Press Release from Mono Sheriff PIO Jennifer Hansen)

On Thursday, July 12, 2012, the Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team responded to aid a 74 year old man from Markleeville, California, who was hiking the John Muir Trail west of Shadow Lake.   He had begun experiencing chest pains.  Other backpackers used a cell phone to call 911.   The Team requested the assistance of the Yosemite National Park helicopter to extract the man from the backcountry.  The helicopter was able to land near him and transported him to a waiting ambulance at the Mammoth Lakes Forest Service helipad.  He was taken to Mammoth Hospital for treatment.

On Saturday, July 14, the Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team responded in aid of two backpackers from Excelsior Springs, MO, who had become separated.  The Sheriff’s Office received a call just after midnight on July 14, indicating that a father, 57, and son, 36, who were hiking the John Muir Trail south from Yosemite, had become separated at 8:30 the previous evening.  The Sheriff’s Office and SAR team were not able to reach the father at the Reds Meadows pay phone from which he had called, and a SAR team member was dispatched to attempt to locate the father for more information.  The father was found sleeping at the entrance to the campground.  The son intended to walk to the store at Reds Meadow and then meet his father at the Reds Meadow campground, but the son did not arrive at the campground.  Searching at the Reds Resort, Reds Meadow campground, Rainbow Falls trailhead, Sotcher Lake, and Devils Postpile did not locate the son. The father was transported to the store at Reds Meadow since this location seemed to be the most likely place for the son to appear in the morning.  The father was advised to contact the Sheriff’s Office in the morning if the son did not arrive in the first few hours of daylight.  The son arrived at the store later during the night, and the family was reunited.

Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading