John "Giz" Youngerman /Ohio man missing in the Uintas, Utah(FOUND SAFE)

[grammybears]

Search and rescue: Staying safe outdoors



Ohio man missing in the Uintas
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 07/13/2008 12:30:43 AM MDT


Summit County search and rescue teams are looking for a 61-year-old Ohio man who became lost while hiking the King's Peak Trail in the Uinta Mountains on Friday. The man, whose name was not released, was separated from a group of hikers about 1 p.m. Friday, said Detective Josh Wall of the Summit County Sheriff's Office. "He fell behind. They stopped and waited for him and went back to look and they couldn't find him," Wall said. The group of five hikers accompanying the man reported him missing after he failed to return to a campsite by 5 p.m. He likely has wandered into neighboring Duchesne County, Wall said. Searchers began looking for the man about 4 a.m. Saturday and continued through nightfall. Efforts are scheduled to resume today, Wall said. The Utah Highway Patrol provided a helicopter that assisted the search. Rescue workers from both Summit and Duchesne counties organized ground searches on Saturday, Wall said. Search and rescue dogs will be brought in to help during today's search, he said. "He's been missing long enough now that there's the possibility he's in danger,"

www.sltib.com/ci.9869806

[annalyzer]

Aw, poor guy, I hope he is okay.

[grammybears]

Here is another article which said he was sound safe near King's Peak area.

Searchers have found an Ohio hiker missing for nearly two days on the King's Peak trail in the Uinta Mountains.
John "Giz" Youngerman, 61, became lost about 1 p.m. Friday in the Anderson Chute area, said Summit County Sheriff's Detective Josh Wall. Rescuers found him about 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the King's Peak area.
He was walking at the time he was found. Further details about his condition are not yet available.
Wall joined the group of about five other hikers Friday at the Henry's Fork trail head. He did not know the other hikers prior to Friday. Youngerman got lost when the group broke into two and each smaller group thought he had joined the other. The hikers realized Youngerman was missing when they arrived back at the trail head about 5 p.m. They drove from the remote trail head to make contact with police about 9:30 p.m. At 13,528 feet, King's Peak is the highest spot in Utah.
The search started about 4 a.m. Saturday, and continued Sunday morning with about 30 searchers.

[Nut44x4]

Hiker says having the right clothes saved him

Published: July 14, 2008

PARK CITY — John "Giz" Youngerman credits keeping his wits and having the proper clothing for saving his life after spending two days lost near King's Peak when he became separated from his hiking party last Friday.
"I probably wouldn't have survived if I hadn't had the right clothing," Youngerman said, speaking to the media on Monday as his relieved wife watched.

A fairly experienced hiker, the 61-year-old retired auto mechanic from Springfield, Ohio, said he was not prepared for the difficulty of the Uinta mountains. In Ohio, the highest hill is 1,000 feet he said, but he was dealing with 12,000- to 13,000-foot levels. "It's a forsaken place," he said.

Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds said he wanted to use this happy outcome as an opportunity to stress to hikers and campers to be prepared — it may save your life.

Youngerman, who was visiting on vacation and camping in the area with friends, said he became separated from his hiking group when he fell behind and took a wrong turn. According to the sheriff's office, Youngerman was reported missing around 9 p.m. on Friday.

Youngerman said he was wearing pants and had a jacket and a windbreaker with him. Also with him he had a pair of gloves and three pairs of socks, along with a water purifier.

As the sun set, the temperature plunged to the low 30s. "I have frost on my knees," he said. With his back against a log, he breathed into his shirt to protect his lungs from the stinging night air. He also had some crackers and two candy bars with him.

During the day, Youngerman said he tried to re-orient himself. "I had a compass but if you don't know the terrain it's pretty much useless," he said. He soon found himself in an area known as Painter's Basin, which was a water-filled marsh. Slogging through muddy water was exhausting, he said, and soaked his socks and shoes. He said he hung on to one pair of dry socks, which he wore at night.

One thing he wished he had brought with him, Youngerman said, was a GPS device.

Edmunds said with a lot of people heading to the mountains this summer for recreation, his office wants to stress that being prepared is a matter of life and death, as is shown by the fact that the Uintas have claimed numerous people over recent years.

As he was trying to find his way out, Youngerman said one thing went through his mind. "I was thinking about my wife and my family and about the anxiety I've caused," he said.

His wife flew out to Utah to meet him after he was found.

http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/1,5620,700243168,00.html?printView=true