Crag Rat Rescue in Lindsey Creek

It was Tuesday morning, Aug. 2nd, 2011, and Pamela Salant had been missing from her camp, at Bear Lake, since Saturday afternoon.  I had a work project to finish but was now available to join the on-going search in a remote pocket of the Columbia Gorge.  I drove to Kingsley reservoir, geared-up and caught a ride to the SAR command site by the Bear Lake trail head with, Hood River County Sheriff (HRCS) deputy, Matt English.  The search briefing by HRCS Joe Wampler was about to start and fellow Hood River Crag Rats Craig McCurdy, Tom Scully and Asa Mueller were standing in the road with their packs on ready to go. 

Two Crag Rats were to follow a two person, search dog team down Bear creek to Lindsey creek.  Craig and I zigged and zagged down Bear creek, yelling PAM or PAMELA every so often.  The dogs and their owners turned back eventually when the terrain became too steep.  Hiking was mostly hanging from tree to tree and sliding down a duffy, 40 degree slope, at that point.  A good ski slope but a bad hiking one!  As I descended in and out of Bear creek, I saw foot depressions in the soft soil.  I was thinking it was bear or deer prints because there was plenty of scat around but the more prints I saw the more a human pattern emerged.  We were in constant communication with the National Guard chopper above us and let them know that the prints were still headed downhill.

Looking south to Mt. Defiance from Lindsey Cr.

From left, Scully, Mueller, Pamela (victim), McCurdy in Lindsey

Our Crag Rat team proceeded to the confluence of Lindsey and Bear creeks and used radios and GPS units to constantly update our location with the chopper and the SAR base.  Because we could not communicate directly with the SAR base, we bounced our transmits to the chopper or the relay person on Mt. Defiance.   The automatic repeater was not used all day because of it's annoying echo.

The rocky and log chocked Lindsey Creek was very greasy with moss and slim.  Many spills were endured by the team and McCurdy took one in a deep pool only to realize later that his Crag Rat radio stayed at the bottom of the pool.  Upon reaching a 15 ft. waterfall Scully and Mueller decided to rappel down it's side to the pool below.  McCurdy and I scrambled up the steep bank river left and made our way around it.  After more creek stumbling and another waterfall, we made it to the victim.  McCurdy surprised her and she was elated to see him.  Shivering in a tank top and shorts, Pamela was sitting on a rock, in the middle of the creek, alive, cold and shocky.  McCurdy immediately handed her a candy bar and a juice bottle and proceeded to put warm clothing on her.

Crag Rat Craig McCurdy with victim Pamela Salant

About 15 minutes after McCurdy and I stabilized the victim and Mueller accessed injuries, Scully was radio transmitting information to the HG Blackhawk chopper that was approaching for the hoist.  As the chopper hovered in the treetops, above the creek, a technician was lowered to the creek.  Prop wash blew small tree limbs and debris on us, as we bent to cover and protect the victim.  He land just uphill from us and began sorting gear for the hoist.

National Guard technician lowered from Blackhawk

We assisted attaching the technician and Pamela to the hoist seat, after he finished asking questions about her injuries.  Although her lower leg appeared broken and she had a deep gash on it, she was able to straddle the hoist seat without us splinting the leg or bandaging the wound.  The chopper hovered back into hoist position, dropped the hook to us and soon the two were air born and headed to Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland.  I was thinking, at the time, how nice that exit plan would have been for us because we were faced with many more hours of bushwhacking to the Columbia River.  After some food, we climbed the 1000 ft. ridge west of Lindsey Creek and made our way down it's spine, with sore knees and ankles, to Sheriff Wampler and Deputy Frazier's rigs parked by I-84.  It was around 8:00 pm when they took us to Starvation Creek Rest Area to scarfed the sack lunch feast and water we had been hoping to see.  Like Sheriff Wampler said "it turned into a made-for-TV-movie with a happy ending."

From left, Deputy Frazier, Sheriff Wampler and Crag Rats