JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Seach and Rescue was able to help a hunter injured deep in the backcountry yesterday, thanks to a helicopter that arrived in the nick of time.
TCSAR was able to extend its helicopter contract through October this year thanks to a successful “Heli-Yes” fundraising campaign. They did that “specifically for hunters,” said Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr.
The new helicopter arrived October 1, just one day before it became essential in a hunter rescue.
The hunter was at a hunting camp 17 miles away from any road. He was hunting with a private outfitter, but experienced “signficant back pain” that rendered him unable to walk or ride a horse, TSCAR wrote on Facebook. Carr said he had prior back problems that were exacerbated deep in the wilderness.
“In previous years, this would have required an extensive and sustained effort to reach someone that deep in prime grizzly bear habitat,” the TCSAR Facebook post said. But thanks to the helicopter, crews were able to land at the hunter’s camp and extract him swiftly and safely.
“Things went very well,” Carr said. “It’s a new ship to us, and it’s newly under contract. It was in the right place at the right time.”
