Overdue Hunter Found Safe

The Albany County Sheriff’s Office received a call of an overdue hunter at about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.  The hunter didn’t return to camp on Tuesday evening.

The 64-year-old man was on a hunting trip with eight companions near Friend Park Campground in northern Albany County.  The other members of his party began to search the area on horses and ATVs, and finally called the Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning.

Members of the Albany County Sheriff's Search and Rescue were activated and sent out to the scene.  Volunteer search teams with the University of Wyoming ROTC were placed on standby in case their assistance was needed to locate the hunter.

A Sheriff’s Deputy was the first to arrive.  The officer met with some of the hunter’s friends, who had determined the area where the man had been by locating his parked vehicle.  After having a look around the area, they returned and saw that the vehicle was gone.

As Search and Rescue personnel arrived in the area around noon, a friend of the overdue hunter found the man and his broken-down vehicle on a road some distance from the camp.

The hunter told Sheriff’s deputies that he had hiked about a mile and a half away from his vehicle on Tuesday.  As dusk approached, he found that his flashlight was not working.

He played it safe by taking shelter near some large boulders and starting a fire to keep warm for the night.  Sometime Wednesday morning, he was able to return to his vehicle and head back to camp.  However, he took a wrong turn, and the vehicle ended up breaking down.  He remained with the vehicle, and was located by a friend shortly thereafter.