Uintah County Search and Rescue responded to a call on Friday, March 20th, of two Colorado residents possibly stranded on Wild Mountain along the Utah/Colorado border. According to a press release from the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office, the search also included Moffat County Search and Rescue, Classic Air Medical, and officers from Dinosaur National Monument. The missing snowmobilers truck was found on Friday and the snowmobiles the men had been riding were found Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon searchers on the ground spotted a man waving an orange sled and the Department of Public Safety helicopter was guided to the men. “One of the men, a 58-year-old, was found deceased,” shares the Sheriff’s Office. “The DPS helicopter shuttled the other man, who is 65 years old, to a spot where he could be transferred to the Classic Air Medical helicopter for transport to the hospital. The men were found inside Dinosaur National Monument on the Moffat County side of the state line. The Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, Dinosaur National Monument law enforcement, and the Uintah County Sheriff are investigating the incident.” On February 29th, these same two men were rescued by members of the Uintah County Search and Rescue Team on snowmobiles on Wild Mountain and the Sheriff’s Office notes that both men were inexperienced riders unprepared for the conditions. “Please, if you are going into the backcountry, expect cold, wet, muddy, snowy conditions,” shares Uintah County Sheriff Steve Labrum. “Tell someone where you are going and take something like a bright orange hunting vest for emergency flagging. Be prepared with food, water, several ways to build fire, a shelter, tire chains, and a shovel,” the sheriff explains. “Be in physical shape for the outing and have the proper clothing. A two-or three-hour day hike could turn into a several day ordeal that you will be lucky to live through with the right gear.” Sheriff Labrum asks the public to be prepared and understand that they will always do their best to help but that they are stretched thin with current circumstances.
