JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, Detachment 1, rescued a lost hunter in the Minto Flats Game Refuge, west of Fairbanks, Dec. 29.
The man was part of a hunting party over the weekend when he became separated from the group, said Tech. Sgt. Sean Mitchell, a search and rescue controller with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.
“He was out with several individuals when his (snow) machine started giving him problems,” Mitchell said. “He told his group that he would catch up to them and stayed behind to work on the machine. Later, he texted his group that he got the machine running and was on his way, but he never showed up.”
The group then contacted the Alaska State Troopers to report the man missing.
The AST launched two helicopters to search the area but were unable to locate the man, according to Mitchell. When night began to fall, the AST then contacted the RCC for assistance.
“They called us for help because it was getting dark, and we have the ability to operate with night vision and forward looking infrared systems,” said Mitchell.
The Alaska Air National Guard accepted the mission at about 5 p.m. and launched an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from the 210th Rescue Squadron, DET 1 with a team of Guardian Angels from the 212th Rescue Squadron aboard, out of Eielson Air Force Base.
Guardian Angels teams are highly trained medical personnel made up of a pararescueman and a combat rescue officer who both specialize in conducting high-risk rescue missions.
From Monday through Friday each week, a team of Guardian Angels, a Pave Hawk and the aircrew are sent from JBER to Eielson Air Force Base to cover for fighter alerts, explained Mitchell. While there, they maintain an alert status to support rescue missions.
“That crew had just flown up there when they got the call to support the mission,” said Mitchell.
After launching, the HH-60 flew to Minto Flats Game Refuge and found the man, whose snowmobile had broken down again, standing next to a camp fire.
“All the searching the Troopers did during the day helped us whittle down the area where he might be,” Mitchell said. “When our guys got to the area, they saw the fire and flew directly to him.”
The HH-60 crew hoisted the man into the helicopter and flew him Fairbanks Memorial Hospital where he was released, uninjured, to the Alaska State Troopers.
“He was well prepared,” said Mitchell. “He had all the gear he needed to survive out there, which is important in that environment.”
For this mission, the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons were awarded with one save.