Park County Search and Rescue: Ready Before the Call, Thanks to You

Last week, Park County Search and rescue held their annual soiree at the Chamberlin Inn to raise funds for added technology to enhance the efficiency of the work they do. During the evening of drinks, food and music, Dr. Elise Lowe gave a speech about what community support allows them to do.

If, after reading this window into their world of rescue, you feel you would like to donate, you can do so at https://parkcountywysarfoundation.org/donate/

From Dr. Elise Lowe:

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for being here tonight, and thank you for supporting Park County Search and Rescue. It’s wonderful to see so many of you here, and we’re truly grateful for your support.

To show you what your support makes possible, let me start with a story.

A couple of summers ago, on a weekend afternoon, a call came in for a hiker in distress up in the Beartooths. The team arrived at the hall, and as we prepared ourselves to be away well into the evening, the pagers went off a second time.

A young family was in trouble at Buffalo Bill Reservoir. A perfectly calm day had turned into a raging windstorm in a matter of minutes—a common occurrence here in Cody.

The father had managed to get his two young children back to shore. Unfortunately, the wind had come up too fast for the young pregnant mother, who was towing her five-year-old daughter on an inner tube behind her kayak. The waves had quickly built into eight-foot swells. She paddled like crazy, but by the time anyone could call 911, the boats had been swept across the reservoir. The mother and child were nowhere in sight.

Because our team was already at the hall, we were able to quickly split forces and send the water-rescue crew to the reservoir. Search and Rescue members squeezed into dry suits, life jackets, and helmets as Rescue One and Rescue Two sped out through the tunnels, boats in tow.

We all knew the situation was grim. The water and the wind were freezing. Even in our dry suits, we could feel the chill. No one wanted to say it, but we all knew how hard it would be to swim in that cold water.

The danger became clearer every time the boats disappeared into the trough of a wave as we sped across the lake. The first boat located the kayak and the inner tube. They had blown about 50 yards up onto the far shore. There was still no sign of the mother and child.

In the second boat, we began a search pattern and worked our way back toward the dock. Then, as the boat crested a giant wave, against all odds, one of our team members spotted something in the water. The young girl. In her life jacket, barely conscious, but alive.

It had been 22 minutes since we left the dock.

We quickly pulled her into the boat, wrapped her in emergency blankets, and sped back toward shore. We handed her off to the ambulance crew at the dock, turned the boat around, and headed back out through the waves to find her mother.

Following the GPS back to where we had found the girl, we began a new search. For another 18 minutes, we fought the wind and scoured the lake.

Then, we spotted the young woman rising up the wall of a wave.

One of our members jumped into the water, swam to her, and held her in a rescue position while we pulled the boat alongside. Soon enough, we had her on board—terrified and cold, but alive. The entire operation, from the time we left the dock until she was safely in an ambulance, lasted just 47 minutes. To us, it seemed like hours. To her family, it must have felt like a lifetime.

But those 22 minutes to find that little girl did not happen by accident. And neither did the additional 18 minutes it took to find her mother. Those minutes were built on years of program development, equipment procurement, weekly training, Saturday rope refreshers, and formal certification courses. They were built on the thousands of hours our volunteers give every year.

Our members respond on weekends and holidays. They leave their regular jobs in the middle of the workday. They give up time with their families. And our community supports them. Spouses give their partners the grace to participate. Employers support our members when they have to leave work. And donors, like you, help provide the resources that keep our equipment and training ready.

Each year, Search and Rescue looks at what we need to maintain and improve—our skills, protective equipment, vehicles, boats, communications, and rescue tools. While the state SAR fund covers much of our mission costs, including fuel and specialized resources, Park County SAR relies exclusively on community donations for equipment and personal protective gear.

We rely on you.

In fact, your support from last year’s fundraiser helped us purchase rope rescue technician kits. The Foundation was able to purchase six kits, and they’re now in service with our team.

This year, the Foundation is working toward a larger goal of raising $50,000 for technology upgrades, and a generous donor has offered to match $25,000 to reach that goal. We’re looking at technology that can make our searches and rescues safer and more effective.

One item is a new drone, which would expand our search and reconnaissance capabilities. It would help us cover large areas more quickly, gather information before sending rescuers into dangerous places, and give teams on the ground a clearer picture of what they’re facing. But technology can also make a difference after we’ve located someone.

And that brings us back to mountain rescue—and to the hiker in the Beartooths. Some of you may be wondering what happened to him.

He’s fine. In fact, he self-rescued. But that didn’t stop us from sending half the team after him until we knew he was safe.

And that is what we do. We train for the person who needs us, even when we don’t know what the next call will look like.

Our rope team spends an enormous amount of time training to reach people in some of the most difficult and dangerous terrain in Park County—and, frankly, some of the most difficult terrain in the country. Here, big heights are often not the biggest obstacle. Much of our “rock” is left over from the last volcanic explosion. It does not like to stay in one place.

Reaching someone stranded in a river canyon or halfway up a remote cliff puts everyone at risk from rockfall, sharp edges, and exposure. That’s where the second piece of technology comes in: a powered rope winch system designed for mountain and canyon rescues.

A portable powered winch can help us move a rescuer or patient through vertical terrain while reducing the number of people exposed to the fall zone—and reducing the chance of knocking rocks onto the person below. It can also speed up rescue when minutes matter. These systems are lightweight and can be operated with a cordless drill—an innovative and ideal tool for backcountry use.

Those successful 22 minutes on the lake did not happen by accident. The next rescue won’t happen by accident, either. We have to prepare for it before the call comes.

So, if you feel moved to help, our goal is to raise the $7,000 required to purchase a rescue winch. Gifts of any size will support the Foundation’s broader technology goal and help us make the most of the matching opportunity.

We aren’t asking for technology for technology’s sake. We’re asking for specific tools that protect our rescuers, improve our operations, and help us reach patients faster.

Before I let you return to your drinks and conversation, I want to share one final piece of good news.

The family from our story later came to speak with us and share their experience. The baby boy growing in his mother’s belly that day was born healthy into a happy, full family. Not every rescue ends that way. Sometimes all we can offer is help, peace, or closure.

But stories like this keep us answering calls in the middle of the night—and keep us asking for the support we need to do this work. We don’t know who the next person will be. We don’t know where they’ll be. And we don’t know whether we’ll have 22 minutes to get to them. So when that call comes, we want to be ready. Thank you for helping us be ready.

Donate here: https://parkcountywysarfoundation.org/donate/

 

[Community Contributor]

This article is proudly sponsored by