Wilderness Rescues

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Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:55 am

Wilderness Rescues
Man dies in Nevada mine. He was alive when rescuers arrived, but apparently they weren't able to get to him. I suppose this underscores the importance of not exploring abandoned mines. I'm guilty of entering abandoned mines on many occasions. So far I haven't died or even had any close calls. But this kind of thing reminds us of the dangers of this kind of activity. Of course, the same thing can be said about driving on the freeway.
A man plunged into a deep mine shaft in Nevada and was left to die by rescuers because efforts to save him were too risky, officials said Saturday. He was pronounced dead on Saturday afternoon, less than a day after officials made the announcement. The 28-year-old man suffered head injuries and was believed to be alive at first based on video footage showing him breathing after his 190-foot fall on Wednesday in Jersey Valley. Officials have not released the man's name, saying only that he was from Battle Mountain and was working with a drilling crew nearby when he and two friends decided to explore the mine.

LINK: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/03/05/2011-03-05_man_who_fell_in_nevada_mine_left_for_dead_as_officials_call_off_rescue_attempt_s.html
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:28 am

In Wake Of Called-Off Mine Rescue, An Ethical Debate
The problem is deciding when it's too dangerous for rescue workers to attempt to rescue someone. The same thing happens with house fires. At some point the risks outweigh the possible benefits. It's a tough call, but it's better to leave a scene with a single death than multiple deaths.
A father of five plunges deep into an abandoned mine shaft. Nearly 200 feet down, video images show he is injured but still breathing, trapped by debris. The century-old shaft, though, is extremely unstable, its walls crumbling. As one rescuer tries to descend to reach the man, he is hit by a large rock, which splits his hard hat. Other efforts yield more falling rocks and clear evidence: This is going to be a dangerous mission — maybe too dangerous. The scenario unfolded underneath Nevada last week, when rescue teams were told to stand down in their bid to reach 28-year-old Devin Westenskow, even as they had evidence that he was still alive.

LINK: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134328025/nevada-mine-death-questions-on-called-off-rescue
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:59 am

wildrose wrote:In Wake Of Called-Off Mine Rescue, An Ethical Debate
The problem is deciding when it's too dangerous for rescue workers to attempt to rescue someone. The same thing happens with house fires. At some point the risks outweigh the possible benefits. It's a tough call, but it's better to leave a scene with a single death than multiple deaths.
A father of five plunges deep into an abandoned mine shaft. Nearly 200 feet down, video images show he is injured but still breathing, trapped by debris. The century-old shaft, though, is extremely unstable, its walls crumbling. As one rescuer tries to descend to reach the man, he is hit by a large rock, which splits his hard hat. Other efforts yield more falling rocks and clear evidence: This is going to be a dangerous mission — maybe too dangerous. The scenario unfolded underneath Nevada last week, when rescue teams were told to stand down in their bid to reach 28-year-old Devin Westenskow, even as they had evidence that he was still alive.

LINK: http://www.npr.org/2011/03/07/134328025/nevada-mine-death-questions-on-called-off-rescue

The father of five bit annoys me just a little. It's almost as if the writer is implying that having children somehow makes his life more worth saving. I don't care if we're talking about a ten-year-old child or an eighty-seven year old grandpa, a life is a life. Rescuers should not take into consideration the age, nationality, religion, sexual preference, marital status, criminal record, etc. of the victim. All people are of equal value!
:soap:
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:05 am

cactuspete wrote:The father of five bit annoys me just a little. It's almost as if the writer is implying that having children somehow makes his life more worth saving. I don't care if we're talking about a ten-year-old child or an eighty-seven year old grandpa, a life is a life. Rescuers should not take into consideration the age, nationality, religion, sexual preference, marital status, criminal record, etc. of the victim. All people are of equal value!
:soap:

What about the weight of the victim. I could see how that might be relevant. I'm thinking if the victim weighs upwards of 600 pounds that hoisting such a victim out of an unstable mineshaft might present some technical problems that may be important to consider. Weight obviously reflects a lifestyle issue in most cases and so that seems to conflict with your recommendation of non-discrimination. But seriously, I agree that just as justice should be blind, so should the efforts of rescuers and they shouldn't put out a special effort for some and not for others. Do do otherwise would be unethical!
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:21 am

Inyo Search and Rescue team tests skills in Alabama Hills
Getting ready for a busy summer of rescuing people in the Owens Valley area. It's nice to know these people are there to help out those who wind up in trouble, but the best policy is to be prepared and careful so that you don't get into trouble in the first place. That's probably easier said than done in many cases, but it's a thought...
:onion:
Volunteers from the Inyo County Sheriff's Posse Search and Rescue team were put to the test this past weekend by the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). During two days of testing, the Inyo SAR team was evaluated in two disciplines, Technical Rock Rescue and Search & Tracking. The team received a passing score in each and high praise for combined skills, incident management and excellent team work.

LINK: http://news.sierrawave.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4320:inyo-search-and-rescue-team-tests-skills-in-alabama-hills&catid=6&Itemid=200021
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Sat Apr 02, 2011 7:35 am

Act of kindness helps family of missing man to heal
Another death in Death Valley. This guy had been dead for several months before his body was recovered.
A Carson City man's family had waited seven months to learn the fate of their missing patriarch. Last weekend the kindness of strangers delivered to them an answer. In early August, a few days after they last saw him, Norman Cox's wife and children received letters from him in which he explained he went to Death Valley to die. He told his wife how to split his estate and that he wanted no funeral service. “You have to deal with it,” Norman wrote as his last words. The family reported his disappearance to the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and they also contacted the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, which governs Death Valley. Inyo County officers found Norman's vehicle abandoned in a parking lot in the Badwater section of the desolate desert park. A search and rescue mission by Inyo County later in August proved fruitless.

LINK: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20110326/NEWS/110329705
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby Anonymizer » Sat Apr 09, 2011 7:48 am

Coroner positively identifies skeletal remains from Death Valley
At least they have a positive id...
Human remains originally found by a Carson City deputy and Riverside searcher have been positively identified by the Inyo County Coroner as Norman Cox of Carson City. Mr. Cox had sent a letter to his family in early August to say he went to Death Valley to die.

Carson City Deputy Jack Freer contacted Sierra Wave to say he saw the story on our website, www.sierrawave.net, about Cox's letter to his family and the discovery of his car near Badwater. Deputy Freer said he spends a lot of time in the Eastern Sierra. He and others had decided to mount a free lance search of Death Valley for Cox. They did find human skeletal remains in an area of Death Valley, some 6 miles from where Cox's car had been found

LINK: Skeletal Remains Identified
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby wildrose » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:54 am

Mono SAR helps hikers
It's a good thing that the government hasn't cut off funding for agencies that rescue people stranded in the backcountry!!! :4x4:
The Mono County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR) Team responded on August 7, 2011, to a request for aid to hikers unable to cross Convict Creek. A father was hiking out of the back country with his two teenage children when they became stranded at the trail crossing of Convict Creek due to deep and swift water. The bridge at this site between steep canyon walls was washed out some years ago...

LINK: http://www.sierrawave.net/7779/mono-sar/
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby cactuspete » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:35 am

Bronx backpacker rescued in Mono
"Leg broken from the knee down." Sounds like a painful injury!
A SAR medical team and a support team with a wheeled litter and additional oxygen hiked through the night to the patient’s location, while helicopter service was arranged for the morning. The first team reached the patient at 12:22 on the morning of the 10th. The patient, a 74-year old backpacker from the Bronx, had fallen an unknown distance and had a number of lacerations and contusions.

LINK: http://www.sierrawave.net/8203/bronx-backpacker-rescued/
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby desertrat » Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:14 am

Search for missing man
Good luck finding this guy if he's been missing since July! It seems odd that no one reported the vehicle before now. :conf003:
The Inyo County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the disappearance of Richard John Malten, a 64 year old man from Oregon House, CA. Malten is described as 5’ 08”, and 144 pounds; he has browncurly hair and brown eyes. The Sheriff’s Department has received information that Malten’s 2001 maroon Jeep utility vehicle may have been parked unattended since July, 2011 in the Buttermilk area. A missing person’s report was filed earlier this week.

LINK: http://www.sierrawave.net/8523/search-for-missing/
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby pcslim » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:52 am

Man stranded in snow for three days survives on FROZEN BEER
A truly inspirational story about how beer saved the day!!! :pacman:
A driver stranded in snow for three days at temperatures of minus 17 has survived by eating frozen beer. Clifton Vial, 52, became stranded in his Toyota Tacoma 40 miles outside Nome, Alaska after plunging in a snow drift. Uncharacteristically unprepared for the situation, he was wearing jeans and a thin coat – not protective enough to dig himself out of the snow without getting frostbite. And with no signal on his cellphone, he had to sit and wait for his colleagues to realise he was missing.

LINK: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2069735/Man-stranded-snow-days-survives-FROZEN-BEER.html
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Re: Wilderness Rescues

Postby cactuspete » Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:00 am

Search on for two men lost near Randsburg
Did they fall down a mineshaft? Were the involved with some drug gang?
:conf003:
Kern County Sheriff Deputies joined San Bernardino County Sheriff Deputies and BLM in the search for two men reported missing after an off roading trip near Randsburg on Sunday.
The search is ongoing as of Tuesday. Once on scene on Sunday, KCSO deputies learned that member of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office had been involved in a search for two male adults from Randsburg.

LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/mobiletopstories/x1479407007/Search-on-for-two-men-lost-near-Randsburg
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