Injured woman rescued despite tricky terrain in Gibson Jack area
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POCATELLO — Rescuers found and saved an injured woman in the backcountry south of Pocatello.
Bannock County Search and Rescue, the Backcountry Rescue Team and Sheriff’s deputies went out looking for a missing woman in the early morning hours on Tuesday in the Gibson Jack area. They found her about a mile and a half up Gibson Mountain that morning, still alive and calling for help.
“It’s hard when you’re up there, and you know that the family is counting on your team to locate their loved one,” said Sgt. Nick Zweigart. “A big rewarding factor was seeing the gratitude of the family’s faces.”
The report came in around 12:30 a.m. The day before, the woman had left for a solo ATV trip at 5:30 p.m. and did not return.
Her family started by going to the Gibson Jack trailhead and found her truck and trailer. They searched for her on foot for a few hours, and after not finding anything, they called Search and Rescue for help.
Rescuers began to search the area on ATVs, 4-wheelers and e-bikes through the dark early morning hours.
“It’s nighttime; you’re going up steep terrain. This portion of the trail is very steep, very narrow. Your sight is limited, so you’re having to just use your headlights and that’s the best you can do in the dark,” Zweigart said.
After not finding her for a while, they called in the Portneuf Air Rescue helicopter. Despite the birds-eye view, the helicopter team could not spot the missing woman.
“When you go out looking for someone and you can’t find them and then as the hours tick by, you start assuming the worst,” Zweigart said.
When the sun started to rise, rescuers again left on e-bikes to ride up the mountain and search for her. This time, they heard her yelling in the distance.
“When they heard her voice, they jumped into action and they were calm and gave the appropriate communication with the rest of the team,” Zweigart said.
At 7:30 a.m., rescuers found the missing woman 100 feet down a steep embankment. Although she was conscious and talking, she was hurt.
Rescuers then descended down the embankment using a rope, and brought a transport basket to get her up the embankment. At this point in the rescue, it started raining, muddying the ground and the trail.
“They’re all getting wet. They’re going through shrubbery and brush on steep ground. Trying to work your way back up to the main trail in wet conditions was a challenge,” Zweigart said. “They all worked slow and safely and got up without any issue.”
The woman was transported by ambulance away from the scene after rescuers brought her back to the trailhead. According to a post from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, she is safe and is now recovering from the incident.
Zweigart spoke to the heroism of the volunteers who worked to rescue the missing woman.
“These guys aren’t out there doing that for accolades,” Zweigart said. “They do it because they love their community.”
The Backcountry Rescue Team is a group of volunteers that specializes in backcountry terrain. If you want to join Search and Rescue or the Backcountry Team, call (208) 236-7111 or email nzweigart@bannockcounty.gov.