Dehydrated/lost hunters rescued in Grant County
By Logan Bagett on Monday, October 9th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
GRANT COUNTY – (Press Release from Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley)
Near 7:00pm on the evening of October 7th, the Grant County Emergency Communication Center received a report of two stranded and lost hunters from Global Rescue, a provider in emergency rescue service.
Global Rescue had received a distress signal from the hunter’s satellite transponder device near 6:54pm. The hunters reportedly were out of water, and one was suffering the effects of dehydration on this unseasonably warm day.
A deputy responded to the area of the call, with the coordinates showing the party in the Strawberry Mt. Wilderness, somewhere off of the Table Mt. Trail. The parties were not located overnight, and personnel returned to the area at daybreak.
At 9:00 am, Garth Brech, 52 and Anthony Miller, 36, were located on a ridge between the East Fork and the Middle Fork of Canyon Creek about three and a half miles from the Table Mt. Trail head. The parties had lost the trail in the Canyon Creek burn scar, where multiple snags had fell and the underbrush was thick and difficult to negotiate. After getting the party rehydrated and having family notified of their conditions, they were led from the area and transported back to their vehicle.
Fortunately, Brech and Miller had invested in Iridium emergency beacon devices, and had them for their hunt. They had access to OnX but their phones had run out of battery before completing their planned route from the Roads End trailhead on Strawberry Mt. to the trail head at Table Rock.
With hunting seasons upon us, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind hunters to be prepared, and to make sure and let someone know of your hunt plans. Our weather can change rapidly this time of year, so pack accordingly.
(Photos from Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley)
