Wednesday, August 3, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Two rescues in a week on South Sister
I t ’s a m i s s i o n t h a t
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office Search and Rescue
(DCSOSAR) personnel take
on regularly — sometimes
several times each summer:
A hiker who is not prepared
for an overnight stay on the
mountain gets lost on South
Sister and SAR has to come
out and get them.
SAR assisted two lost hik-
ers in the space of three days
on South Sister last week.
On e o f t h e res cu es
involved an airlift.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office reports that
on Saturday, July 30, Search
and Rescue was dispatched
to a report of a hiker that
was lost on South Sister
after heading down from the
summit.
The hiker, James Esposito,
36, of Portland, advised he
had gotten off the trail and
was climbing on some rocks
having lost the trail about an
hour earlier. Esposito reported
he was hiking alone and had a
little food and water left with
him. Esposito added that he
was dressed in running shoes;
running shorts, a light T-shirt
and an ultra-running vest.
Esposito’s GPS coordi-
nates were obtained during
his call to dispatch, plac-
ing him about 1,000 feet
west of the climber’s trail at
about 9,400 feet elevation.
The battery on his phone
was about 20 percent at that
time. A DCSOSAR deputy
was able to communicate
with Esposito by phone long
enough to confirm he was not
comfortable proceeding any
further, after he was provided
directions to the climber’s
trail. Esposito advised he
would be able to wait at his
location safely until Search
and Rescue members arrived.
The hiker and the search-
ers agreed Esposito would
text every 30 minutes to
report his status while con-
serving the cell phone battery
CORK CELLARS
FREE WINE
and keeping it in airplane
mode in the interim.
Two Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office Search and
Rescue Hasty Team members
were deployed to the loca-
tion, followed up with a team
of six.
Esposito hailed a climber
that was on his way to the
summit via the northwest
route at about 2:25 p.m.
Esposito was able to get the
message to the climber, Brian
Sebastian, that he had called
SAR and provided Sebastian
the DCSOSAR Deputy’s
phone number.
This was an important
update because the searchers
had not received a text from
Esposito since the phone plan
started.
Sebastian was able to see
that Esposito was in a pre-
carious location on the west
slope of the mountain, not the
south slope.
At 3:50 p.m., Esposito
was able to make a phone call
to advise he had 1 percent
battery left and he had stayed
in place. Esposito advised
he had been attempting to
send text messages without
success.
At about 7 p.m., the first
DCSOSAR team reached the
summit while Team 2 was
still ascending. Attempts to
locate Esposito were not suc-
cessful before darkness set in
and the risk of creating rock-
fall was a concern for search-
ers. Attempts to make voice
contact with Esposito were
not successful.
AirLink was placed on
standby to transport more
DCSOSAR personnel and
equipment to the summit
prior to nightfall, but the
focus shifted to securing a
military helicopter that would
be able to hoist Esposito from
his location, based on the
difficulty in accessing him
safely prior to nightfall.
It was not until after mid-
night that searchers learned
AFTER
LIVE MUSIC
SAT., 8/6, 7-9 P.M.
MARK CONKLIN
C
O
R
K
Tues-Sat 12-8 p.m.
391 W. Cascade Ave.
541-549-2675
Sigona, had become lost after
summiting South Sister.
Nole provided his coor-
dinates, which were verified
by a cell phone ping when
he later called 911. Nole was
approximately one mile west
of the summit of South Sister
and the South Sister Climber
Trail. This area of South Sister
is steep, with loose terrain.
Nole requested assistance
in finding the trail as he was
not equipped for an overnight
stay and had no source of
light besides his cell phone.
Nole had a small amount of
food and water, but had no
other clothing than the shorts
and T-shirt he was wearing.
A Deschutes County
Search and Rescue Deputy
was able to assist Nole via
phone in returning to the
summit and finding the trail,
which he did at about 8:45
p.m. Nole traveled south
on the climbers trail until it
became too dark to continue
without a light source, at
around 9:50 p.m.
A Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office Search and
Rescue team of four vol-
unteers hiked in from the
Devil’s Lake Trailhead, locat-
ing Nole at about 11:10 p.m.
in good health. The search
and rescue team escorted
Nole off the mountain and
back to his vehicle.
The Deschutes County
Sheriff ’s Office reminds
those recreating in the back-
country to always prepare for
varying conditions and carry
the “10 essentials for wilder-
ness survival.” This includes
sources for navigation, sun
protection, insulation, illu-
mination, first-aid supplies,
fire, repair kit/tools, nutrition,
hydration and emergency
shelter.
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
General, Cosmetic, Implant
and Family Dentistry
~ Over 22 years Serving Sisters ~
We are preferred providers for Delta Dental PPO and Premier,
MODA, Advantage, Pacifi c Source, Cigna and the V.A.
541-549-0109
|
304 W. Adams Ave.
Saturday, August 6, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Across the street from Sisters High School
in the parking lot west of Reed Stadium
FRIDAY & SATURDAY
Grilled Salmon,
Watermelon Salad
photo courteSy dcSo
AirLink lifted a rescued hiker off the summit and returned for the search
and rescue crew.
BEFORE
TASTING WED. 5-7
SPECIALS:
that the military helicopter
would not be an option until
the next morning.
Two DCSOSAR members
spent the night on the summit
while six members returned
to Bend.
At about 5:30 a.m. on
Sunday morning, AirLink
transported two DCSOSAR
members to the summit to
team up with the two mem-
bers that spent the night, to
continue the search to locate
Esposito. AirLink assisted by
searching from the air. Initial
efforts to locate Esposito via
AirLink were unsuccessful.
One DCSOSAR Mountain
Rescue Unit member was
lowered from the summit
of South Sister to the last
known location for Esposito.
This MRU member, from an
elevation of approximately
10,000 feet, was able to see
and make voice contact with
Esposito, who was on a ridge
northeast from him and at a
slightly higher elevation.
Esposito was uninjured,
but shivering and battling
hypothermia.
DCSOSAR members re-
positioned and lowered res-
cuers to Esposito’s location.
Utilizing an extra harness and
ropes, DCSOSAR members
were able to raise Esposito to
the summit of South Sister.
AirLink responded back to
the summit of South Sister,
retrieved Esposito and trans-
ported him to St. Charles in
Bend to be assessed.
AirLink further assisted
DCSOSAR by returning to
the summit of South Sister to
fly all DCSOSAR members
off of the mountain.
This complex operation
was the second rescue on the
mountain last week.
On July 27, at about 7
p.m., Quincy Sigona called
Deschutes County 911 to
report that her brother, Nole
Well, maybe not.
But WAXING
does help!
152 E. Main • 541-549-8771
|
Sisters