Inyo Co SAR Incident 5/15 (Old Army Pass)

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Inyo Co Sheriff’s Dept:

On May 15, at approximately 8:30am, Inyo County Search and Rescue received a callout that involved one injured and one deceased near Old Army Pass. VX-31 Search & Rescue of China Lake Naval Base were able to assist with the mission and met six members of Inyo SAR at the Lone Pine Airport to fly them up to the base of Old Army Pass. Due to terrain and power constraints, VX-31 chose to shuttle Inyo SAR members in pairs up to the closest landing zone, about one mile from the subject's last known location.
As the first SAR members were inserted, further details were revealed that at the time of the incident, a party of four was ascending Old Army Pass, when one of the members slipped near the top, falling a significant distance and ultimately succumbed to their injuries. Two of the hikers descended to the fall victim, while the fourth seemed to have disappeared. The two hikers decided to go back down to the trailhead and call for help as they could not see or get a verbal response from the other missing party. Along the way, they found a stranger with a SPOT device, who ultimately initiated the emergency call-out.
Once Inyo SAR members arrived on scene, initial searching was done for the missing party, while other SAR members began packaging the deceased. Shortly after, the SAR team was informed that the missing hiker was now safe and accounted for. The missing hiker had recomposed themselves after seeing their partner fall and decided to finish ascending rather than descend back down the steep snow-covered terrain they had ascended (and ultimately where their partner had slipped and fallen from). The hiker descended via New Army Pass and made it safely back to the trailhead.
The deceased was lowered approximately 900 feet to reach the trail and then carried just under a mile to where VX-31 was staged. VX-31 was able to fly out the deceased and then met members of Inyo SAR at a lower landing zone, to fly them back to Lone Pine Airport.
This unfortunate incident continues to follow the same trends as the past four deaths throughout the past year. Many of these have been in spring or early summer due to falls on snow and ice, where the subject did not have or know how to use critical gear like crampons and an ice axe. It is imperative that you are prepared with the proper gear and know how to use it.
Our condolences as always to the families of those that have passed and strength to those that were a part of and experienced this tragedy.