A 78-year-old man found himself lost in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, suffering from hypothermia and exhaustion, when he was found — and rescued — by a group of Boy Scouts.
Boy Scout Troop 26 — which is mostly made up of scouts around 12 years old — was venturing into the Emigrant Wilderness with their Scoutmaster Michel James Hey and a group of four adult leaders when the incident occurred.
The scouts set off on August 2 for their trip.
Around the same time, Douglas Montgomery had also set off for the wilderness. Montgomery is an Eagle Scout himself, and was camping when he set down his backpack containing his food and supplies. He took a walk to explore the nearby area, but when he returned he could not find his gear, according to SFGATE.
“I checked and checked and checked and looked and looked,” he told the Santa Barbara Independent. “It was very, very disconcerting not to be able to find it. But I had to make a decision at the last minute just to stop looking and get where I could save my own life, and that’s what I did.”
He was lost and without supplies. To weather the night, he covered himself in leaves and other foliage, and tried to get some sleep.
That proved difficult.
“I complained about the cold out loud many times, yelling out of the darkness,” he said.
Since he had no water, he was forced to drink what he could find from puddles to keep somewhat hydrated.
On August 6, Troop 26 spotted Montgomery in a meadow. Hey told SFGATE that he saw Montgomery and said the man appeared to be struggling.
“We started realizing very quickly that he wasn’t all right,” Hey told the outlet. “He was looking really bedraggled. He’s got cuts all over his hands. He’s very unsteady on his feet, and he’s being polite, but he’s pretty out of it.”
The troop gave Montgomery electrolytes and food and helped him get warm. Once they learned that he had been out in the wilderness for days without supplies and medications he’d been prescribed, the leaders of Troop 26 decided to call for help.
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office notified the California Highway Patrol about the situation after Troop 26 called authorities for assistance. The sheriff’s office ultimately decided to send a helicopter to the area to take Montgomery for treatment.
While they waited for the helicopter, Troop 26 made a list of all the information first responders would need from Montgomery, including his emergency contacts and his medical history.
The incident served as a sobering lesson that anyone — even an Eagle Scout and experienced outdoorsman like Montgomery — can get lost in the wilderness.
“They saw how useful that stuff really was when you get into trouble, all the preparation and having some navigation tools with you and knowing which way is north, and how it’s important to have a plan,” Hey told SFGATE.
Montgomery was flown to a pack station at Kennedy Meadow and declined further medical treatment. His niece picked him up and drove him out of the mountains.
While the situation was harrowing, Montgomery said he enjoyed the helicopter ride. He said the next day, after having adequate rest, he drove home himself.
