Man reunited with family by search and rescue team

Crook County Sheriff’s Office reports a successful search and rescue operation last week in which a young man was reunited with his father and brother at Reuter Campground.

The report came in at around 9:15 p.m. on June 20 that an 18-year-old who had been camping with his brother and father had gone missing.

According to the father, the male had gone mountain biking at around 5 p.m. on the trail system, but had not returned by 8 p.m.

The father had gone looking for him, but was not able to locate him before dark so called 911 to report him missing.

Several more deputies joined the initial responding officer to begin a search for the missing man.

Hiking, dirt biking, pickups and the Crook County Sheriff’s Office drone with thermal imaging capability were all utilized to search the area.

At around 4 a.m., the man was found walking down a road with his bike.

The man said he had crashed at some point the evening before while it was still daylight and woke with his bike on top of him after dark.

The male was able to see lights from a deputy’s vehicle, which enabled him to walk out to a road. At this point, he was found.

The man was transported to a waiting ambulance and taken to the hospital in Sundance for treatment.

Sheriff Jeff Hodge states that his office is thankful for the positive outcome of the search and that his deputies take search and rescue missions very seriously and do a lot of preparation for these types of calls.

He would like to take the opportunity to remind people of the basic principles to follow before adventuring into the great outdoors.

Inform someone of your intended route and expected return time, bring enough water and food, wear proper attire for the weather, have a means of navigation and a means of communication and know how to find the GPS coordinates of your location or be familiar with trail names, geographical features or landmarks to help searchers find you.