According to Wasatch County Search and Rescue and the Utah National Guard, a 50-year-old man and three boys — ages 7, 10 and 14 — were reported missing in the Strawberry River drainage area at around 4 p.m. Wednesday. They had left their campsite for a hike and didn’t return. They had no provisions and the weather was against them with heavy rain hitting the area.
Members of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Guard’s 211th Aviation Regiment were deployed in the effort to find them. Lt. Col. Chris Kroeber, the Guard’s Public Affairs Officer, said Wasatch County reached out for assistance.
He said the 1st battalion was doing a training exercise in an Apache helicopter when they were diverted to the rescue at about 8 p.m. He said they were able to find the hikers about 90 minutes later with the help of an infrared camera.
"It has heat and night vision capability," he said. "On that aircraft, they use that camera a lot for low visibility situations."
The 1st battalion then guided search and rescue crews and the 2nd battalion to the hikers. The 2nd battalion flew a Black Hawk Medevac helicopter equipped with a hoist, and were able to lift the four hikers to safety.
Kroeber said the Utah Guard is always ready to support such missions.
"It's one of the great things about being a National Guard element," he said. "This is really kind of where we feel like we provide the most value here is just to our fellow neighbors."
The four hikers were cold and wet, but otherwise in good condition. They were reunited with family in Heber City.
