Three men in two vehicles were rescued early Monday morning by Carson City Search and Rescue after being stuck overnight south of Brunswick Canyon near Sunrise Pass.
The men were found safe and healthy despite having minimal provisions, said SAR public information officer Bill “Fergi” Fergus. They managed to stay warm by having the engines run in their vehicles.
“The men were in telephone contact with SAR during the search operation,” said Fergus.
Search and Rescue had deployed at 7:35 p.m. Sunday but called the search off after midnight because of blizzard conditions. At around 1 a.m. SAR was able to learn of the location and went back up to search. Three SAR teams found the two vehicles four miles south and to the east of Bidwell Mine at around 3 a.m. Monday, said Fergus.
Two of the men had gotten one of the vehicles stuck in the backcountry on Friday. They managed to walked out safely. A 13-year-old family member was able to track an approximate area of the truck on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon the two men enlisted help from a third person with a four-wheel drive to retrieve the vehicle. The four wheel drive also got stuck at around the same time the weather situation grew worse with heavy snow and gusty winds, said Fergus.
The 13-year-old who had went to look for the vehicle on Saturday was able to give SAR teams good coordinates early Monday morning to help track the two trucks and three occupants. While in telephone contact with the men, SAR members provided them safety instructions as they maintained shelter inside the vehicles.
SAR members were able to get to the men and took them down the hill without any problems, said Fergus. The trucks remain stuck and will have to be retrieved by the owners once the weather situation improves.
Although the men had minimal provisions, they didn’t suffer any injuries and managed to stay warm and out of the wet, snowy conditions. During the search SAR members advised the trio to keep the tailpipe free from snow as they were running their vehicles to keep warm.
Fergus noted the importance of basic safety guidelines when traveling in the backcountry. He cautioned people not to venture out when storms are approaching and if they go out, their vehicles should have good tires. He said four-wheel drive enthusiasts should pack food, water, extra clothing and blankets, hats and gloves and to let people where they are going ahead of time.
