Five rescued from Lake Dinah

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue rescued five snowmobilers who were lost in the Lake Dinah area Sunday night. While one was wet after his snowmobile went through the ice and another had a shoulder injury, no one required medical attention and everyone reached the trailhead safely by 2:15 a.m. Monday morning.

Five snowmobilers from Minnesota were riding in the Lake Dinah area Sunday afternoon. Incident Commander Missoula County Sheriff's Sergeant Robert Parcell said one of the snowmobiles sank while riding across the ice. The rider swam to shore.

The other riders were able to recover the snowmobile from the lake. One of the men injured his shoulder while trying to pull the sled out of the lake.

"The one guy was sopping wet, another guy had a shoulder injury, the others were okay but all of them were lost," said Parcell. "They didn't know how to get out of there and it was getting dark."

Around 5 p.m. one of the riders sent a text message through his Garmin inReach®. Parcell said the message went through the International Emergency Response Coordination Center who then contacted Missoula County Dispatch to initiate the search. Parcell said they were able to get information out and received texts but the information was sparse.

"If it hadn't had been for that, we wouldn't even have known they were missing," said SSSAR volunteer Gerry Connell. "There is no communications up in that country."

The group was able to start a small fire. However they didn't have any food, water or extra clothing to spend the night.

SSSAR volunteers were called out around 5 p.m. Volunteers headed up to the Lake Elsina warming hut however blizzard conditions made searching extremely difficult.

Two Bear Air rescue helicopter out of Kalispell was forced to turn around because of poor visibility after getting within six miles of the lake. SSSAR set four riders out but Connell said "we got blown off the ridge" due to the wind and five feet of fresh snow.

When local expert snowmobiler Curtis Friede arrived, he took SSSAR volunteer Dan Johnson on an alternate route into Lake Dinah. A SSSAR crew remained at the warming hut ready to offer support if needed.

It took Friede and Johnson two hours to reach the lake. Connell, who remained at the warming hut, said the visibility was so poor they couldn't see the lake from the top let alone the missing party. All of their tracks had blown in.

Connell said Friede and Johnson finally spotted some headlights from one of the snowmobiles. They rode down to the group and helped pack down a trail so the Minnesotans could ride out. It took another hour and a half before everyone arrived at the West Side Trailhead at 2:15 a.m. Monday morning.

"Our guys were available but it was really tough for them to get in there. We needed someone that could handle the situation," said Parcell. "We really appreciate Curt going in there and taking in one of our guys to do it. They really made it happen."

Parcell acknowledged the rest of the SSSAR volunteers that were out: Ken Brochu, Jon Haufler, John Anders, Gerry Connell and Shawn Ellinghouse. Federal officer Tyler Robinson and Missoula County Sheriff's deputies Ryan Dunster and Heath Hanson also assisted in the search.

"It was a good crew out that night," said Parcell. "I am thankful for all their efforts."

Connell said anyone recreating during the winter should be prepared to spend the night, "so it is not the last night you spend."

Parcell added that it is early in the year and conditions in the area are still not prime for recreating. He encouraged people to get their gear ready, be prepared to stay out longer than expected and know the area in which they are riding.

"Thank you to these persistent search crew members who do an amazing job," wrote the Missoula County Sheriff's Office in a press release. "They train throughout the year for situations like this and do it all as volunteers. Another incredible rescue!"