Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 4 likely dead while on bear hunt

It ain't always the bear that is the dangerous part part of the hunt.

Sad deal for these guys, their families, and the outfitter...

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_a34159e8-4f66-599a-89fc-d0426cb5265e.html

Two found alive, two still missing.

We have two from work up there, hope it’s not them.

That Selway country is rough and remote. I've been in that area quite a bit over the years.

I hope all is well, but it doesn't look good for the remaining four.

6 were in the Suburban. 4 are still missing and presumed drowned.

2 hunters from Georgia managed to get out after the vehicle ended up in the river according to the local news.

The vehicle is upside down in the river and that is likely where the other 4 still are. High water and remote location won't make an extraction easy.

More..........

https://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_b71894ad-c0ad-57ce-bbb7-e456e09efa52.html

Two missing are brothers from NYS

Tough deal, but you really have to be careful out there. Had to chip ice out of tracks once driving in BC with relatives, the compacted snow had frozen...when we came back. You simply cannot afford a mistake in deadly areas.

Beats having a heart attack at the desk at friggin work though IMHO

Really tough and tragic.

I love northern Idaho. It's almost Alaska in places. Play at your own risk.

Rough country is pretty unforgiving.

Oh chit. I know a few boys in that area that guide for spring bear. That is remote country.

I read where rescuers had attached a cable to the vehicle. Were expected to get heavy equipment in to recover it. Any updates?

So sad!

Back country is no joke. The "hold my beer and watch this" crap needs to be left out in that type of country. Stupidity and ignorance can cost you in that habitat.

So how did that rig wind up in the river - with a bunch of early 20's kids? From east.

Dare I guess?

I did stupid chit back then, at that age and in that country - but I've always been shot with luck....

Two of the missing are from MT and Oregon. The two missing hunters are brothers from New York. I heard the vehicle was pulled form the river, but no bodies inside.

You're right though las, all the guys were really young early 20's.

Supposedly the vehicle went in the river at 5:30 AM, but never did hear a reason on why. With that road, one second of not paying attention could be bad...

While this is all speculation---I have to assume the vic was hauling ass when it went into the river. This is based on one of the two survivors reaching shore on the opposite bank, which makes me suspect the vehicle was fairly close to the middle of the river when it got lodged in whatever it was that made it stop flowing downstream. There's plenty of big rocks in the middle of that river, so there's plenty of areas directly in the middle where the vehicle could have come to rest.

The text and pictures in the news articles say the road is blocked by over 60 landslides, which is certainly possible (and even likely) but it further confuses things. How did the suburban get there in the first place? Was it left all winter? I know they can and do snow machine in there during the winter, and they may have kept some fuel at the guard station for the suburban I guess.

That is a big, main dirt road big enough for semis to travel but the pictures make it look like a two-track. I don't know if it is just bad reporting, or if something else is going on. I know that road really well between Magruder and Paradise Guard Station. Lots of curves and blind bends with the river right there adjacent to the road.

Bum deal regardless, and of course all the anti hunters in Missoula are cheering because these guys were checking bear baits.

T,

The first pic looks like the vehicle is going over a snow-slide with the road buried underneath. There are always a few brave souls who venture into these places each spring to be the first in. Atv's and shoveling a trail over slides can get you in way before a vehicle.

I know stuff gets left in there all winter because the river canyon can be free of snow weeks, if not months, before the road is fully open.

Ya, both of those points are true.

I have deflated tires with the Clinkenbeard's to get into Paradise Guard Station in early spring when snowbanks are still 10 feet high...but it was really slow going and totally not worth the trouble. With landslides and downed trees in the mix, I am not sure it was even realistically possible to get a regular vehicle in there before plowing and clearing the road.

I'd have to assume with S&R having to plow the road to get recovery equipment to the accident scene that the suburban was left in Paradise over the winter. They must have ferried this spring's bear hunters in via UTV or possibly horseback cause from what I can tell, there's no way they drove regular vehicles in and I highly doubt Storm Creek Outfitters flew clients in.

Unless I'm reading it wrong, that picture and the text was from last year. 60 slides last winter.