JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — A 68-year-old man was severely mauled by a grizzly bear in a remote area of Park County on Monday.
Park County Sheriff’s Office dispatch originally thought they were dealing with a downed aircraft in the Franc’s Peak area after a distress call came in on Monday at 3:07pm from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC). It was the elevation that had first responders fooled momentarily as Park County Search and Rescue (PCSAR) was initially deployed to assist with a possible rescue.
As more information became available, it was determined that the signal was a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) at a high altitude. Due to the location of the signal PCSAR Air – 1 and a Guardian Medical helicopter were launched. A UH-1H Huey, on loan from Sublette County’s Tip Top Search and Rescue was also summoned to assist in transporting a PCSAR ground team to the remote location.
When rescuers arrived at the beacon signal source, they found a 68-year-old male from Buffalo, New York, on a multi-day backpacking trip, who had encountered a grizzly bear and was severely mauled. The attack had happened too quickly to deploy bear spray, which he did have. The patient was quickly loaded in the Huey and flown to a landing zone in the Wood River area, where he was transferred to the Guardian Medical Helicopter and transported to Billings, Montana for treatment.
No further information about his condition is available. The incident is under investigation by Wyoming Game and Fish.
More on the aircraft crash mixup
A PLB is a beacon characteristically seen in maritime applications and not typically carried by hikers in recent years. Most outdoor enthusiasts carry a device which communicates with satellites to triangulate a position to within a few feet. However, a PLB transmits on a radio frequency which is typically associated with downed aircraft Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT).
The AFRCC monitors ELT activations for the entire United States and reports them to the Sheriff’s Office in whatever jurisdiction they occur. While the signal was initially perceived as a down aircraft it was quickly realized to be a PLB.
AFRCC authorities assisted in translating the coordinates of the PLB, which resulted in a faster rescue. Thankfully, the AFRCC was diligent in their efforts to identify this signal even after it was determined to not be aircraft related. PCSAR and the Park County Sheriff’s Office are grateful to all agencies participating in this joint rescue effort as it took each one of them to make this a successful operation.
