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Snowmobiler rescued from forest access road near state line in Idaho County

The snowmobiler was able to alert Idaho County Dispatch they were injured using an SOS device. Five agencies collaborated to get the patient to medical care.

IDAHO COUNTY, Idaho — Editor's note: The above video is about a different incident where a snowmobiler died in a Shoshone County avalanche as reported by KREM 2's News partners The Shoshone News-Press.

Five different agencies worked together to rescue an injured snowmobiler from a forest access road east of Highway 12 Saturday near the Idaho-Montana state line, according to a press release from the Idaho County Sheriff's Office. 

Idaho County Dispatch received an emergency beacon SOS alert advising dispatchers of the injured snowmobiler's location around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the release reads. The user was able to communicate their location dispatch. Two Bear Air, a search and rescue and air ambulance agency, was dispatched to extricate the patient with a winch-equipped helicopter. 

While the extrication was taking place, Idaho State police, Missoula Ambulance, the Powell Quick Response Unit and the Idaho Transportation Department secured a landing zone for Two Bear Air to transfer the patient to the Missoula Ambulance. The patient was transferred from there without incident, the release reads. The rescue was completed by 5:30. 

The rescue came the same day a snowmobiler died in an avalanche in Shoshone County, just north of Burke on Tiger Peak, according to the Shoshone News-Press. Several other snowmobilers were caught in the avalanche, but were uninjured. 

Idaho County dispatch extended their gratitude to the five agencies involved in the rescue, especially to Two Bear Air who performed the rescue in less than optimal weather conditions, the release reads. 

Idaho County Dispatch recommends all SOS device users become familiar with their devices before they take them into the field. The more information device users can pass on can help decrease the response time and dispatch proper resources, the release reads.

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