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Lost Family trying to climb South Sister, calls 911

South Sister Hiker Search
Date: 5/24/2015
By: Deputy Jim Whitcomb
Assistant SAR Coordinator

Hikers: Wise, Jesse and Amanda and family
Corvallis, OR

On 05/24/2015, at about 1718 hours, The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a report of a family that was hiking down South Sister and they could no longer see the trail. The reporting person,
Wise, and father of 5 children, ages 6-15, who were hiking with his wife had called to report they had come up against a literal rock wall and the clouds had lowered so they could no longer tell which way to go.

Wise advised they were dressed for the weather, had food and water and the means to start a fire. Wise informed dispatch they would travel a little further to the south east to a group of trees where he would start a
fire.

Attempts to contact Wise by phone were not successful after he had called dispatch. Attempts to text Wise were not successful either. Dispatch was able to provide fairly accurate GPS coordinates of where Wise had called from which showed that Wise and his family had gotten off the trail to west of the climbers trail by about .7 of a mile at an elevation of about 6500 feet. Accidently leaving the trail to the west in this area has proven to be a common cause of hikers becoming lost during this time of the year when the snow is still covering the trail especially with limited visibility.

One USFS LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) responded to the Devil’s Lake TH and quickly hiked the climber’s trail to the last known coordinates in the attempt to locate the family before dark. 5 Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue members were deployed to the same trail to assist the LEO in locating and assisting the family down the mountain.

The LEO was not able to locate anyone at the last known coordinates, but did locate tracks that appeared to be the family’s heading south still off of the trail. It was soon reported the tracks began to lead towards the
west, which raised the level of concern that the family would be pulled further to the west making the descent more difficult and more time consuming. At this time more SAR resources were beginning to be deployed
to assist in the search.

At about 2052 hours, Wise called dispatch to report the family had made it back to the Devil’s Lake TH and they were all OK, but wet. It was learned that Wise’s phone had died soon after calling dispatch. Wise was
able to build a fire, but the weather cleared up soon after and he was able to see tracks leading in what Wise believed was the right direction. Wise advised he had not brought with him a map, GPS or compass or a
means of charging his cell phone. Wise and his family turned around about a 1000 feet below the summit on this trip.

The LEO ended up following the tracks left by the family on their descent which revealed that the family ended up coming down the mountain counter clockwise on the Moraine Lake Trail instead of on the Climber’s
trail. The SAR team and LEO made it back to the TH at about 2130 and 2145 hours respectfully.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind those who recreate in the back county to always be prepared for their plans to change at a moments notice. Always having the 10 essentials with you will
help ensure a successful back country experience. See http://www.deschutessearchandrescue.org for further information on the 10 essentials.

http://sheriff.deschutes.org/Media/Press-Releases

 

What can be learned from this interesting incident?

We have been unable to talk to Jesse Wise. Federal HIPPA privacy laws prevent medical personnel, including SAR Volunteer Units, from providing contact information for patients. If Jesse or Amanda Wise will contact us, we will correct any inaccuracies in our analysis. This analysis is not a 'could-a, would-a, should-a exercise', but a traditional effort to help folks learn valuable lessons from the experiences of others.

Jesse Wise called 911 late in the day, at 5:18 pm, when he realized that his Family, (including 5 children ages 6-15), was lost and that it would be dark soon on this cold Spring afternoon. They called SAR about 78 minutes after their 911 request for help, at the Devil's Lake Trail Head. Perhaps this lower angle hiking trail to the west was their their original trail, not the the steep "South Sister Climber's Trail Head" at Devil's Lake.

They called 911 again. Had they left a second phone in their car? (Always take the personal cell phones of all group members, turned off, thereby providing much greater 911 connect ability and battery power!)

They were only "somewhat prepared" for their adventure that day. They were not "Prepared" for any winter adventure in the Wilderness on the South side of South Sister. They did not have a map, compass or GPS. Read these traditional pages for some basic information about how to "Be Prepared" in 2015: Basic Responsibilities and the Ten Essential Systems.

The SAR Report mentioned they had "the material to make a fire". Typically, in the winter/spring in Central Oregon, "material to burn", is usually impossible to find in our typical high Wilderness in winter/spring months: it is frozen or wet , to big or buried under feet of snow. Perhaps they did not actually get a "warming fire" started as recommended by SAR. Note that carrying "safety matches" (which also, will not light when wet) gives a dangerous false sense of security.

The SAR Report mentioned that they were "wet" upon return to the Trail Head. This is quite troubling. To "Be Prepared", each hiker, climber, rider, etc. must carry the personal seasonal clothing layers that will keep them dry! "Wet clothing" indicates improper seasonal layers or the failure to adjust layers to avoid wet clothing which can lead to hypothermia.

The Wise Family did not have the available free Deschutes National Forest provided MAP available at every winter trail head, or a $9.00 USGS topo map or equal. They did not carry a $25.00 declination adjusted COMPASS. Did they have the simple skills to use them? Did they have a simple GPS? A million Geochachers can't be smarter than folks looking for adventure near Bend Oregon!

What is that again? The "right" topo map, the "right" clear base-plate declination adjusted (15 degrees declination error - 1,350 feet off in each mile!) compass/protractor and an "optional" inexpensive (Garmin eTrex Venture HC) hand held GPS

Note that they used their cell phone to call 911 connecting to a SAR Incident Manager. SAR/911 used the FCC mandated ability of all cell phones today, to obtain callers geographic Coordinants by cell tower triangulation. Don't worry if you do not own a "smart phone" that has an expensive "GPS" map application, at extra cost each month. The most simple cell phone will work just as well.

Yes, (if your Cell Phone Provider actually has service in your adventure area), you can follow the SAR Incident Manager's instructions and your ordinary cell phone can take the "Search" out of Search and Rescue. Arrange a simple call back schedule with SAR. (Don't call your friends, listen to your tunes or post on Facebook until your phone dies before you are found! Yes that has happened - read more on this website!). An ordinary simple cell phone may be best for the backcountry.

Times have changed!

Map, compass and GPS together

    WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated