Hoax almost turns deadly

Two Bear Air Rescue of Montana, US, recently picked up a snowmobiler who was injured as he rushed to assist two friends who claimed to have been partially buried in an avalanche near Edith Peak.

After calling 911 to raise the alarm, he headed out in the dark to reach the area high on the mountain, but failed to see a steel gate and hit it at high speed. The man was thrown from his vehicle, hitting it with his chest. He was unable to call for help, so authorities were unaware that there was an additional person in the area.

At 01:30 hrs, however, the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter arrived to search for the avalanche victims, and the crew spotted the man lying in the trail near his snowmobile. Two Bear inserted a rescue specialist to assess the man and found him injured and hypothermic. The crew then hoisted him to safety and took him to a ground ambulance for transport to hospital.

After heading back to search for the avalanche victims, the crew were told that there was no avalanche and that the two men had pulled a hoax on their friend. The team located the two men coming down from the mountain on snowmobiles on their way to meet Missoula County SAR crews and US Forest Service Officials.