Modern treasure hunt ends with nighttime rescue
November 4, 2009
By Tara Ballenger
In a high-tech search to find buried treasure, a hiker fell as far as 30 feet while bushwacking off trail in the Gifford Lakes area Oct. 24, injuring his knee and requiring an emergency night rescue.
Fortunately, the global positioning system he was using to find the cache allowed him to tell the King County Sheriff’s search and rescue crew his exact geographic location.The hiker, 43-year-old John Murphy of Pierce County, was geocaching when the fall occurred, King County Sheriff’s deputy Richard Barton said.
Murphy was taken to Overlake Hospital in Bellevue and has since been released.
Geocachers use GPS units, combined with clues usually found on online forums, to find small containers buried under dirt or rocks. Inside the containers is a logbook and several small souvenirs and trinkets for the participants to take and trade.
After injuring his knee, Murphy called search and rescue on his cell phone around 7 p.m., Barton said.
Because it was a nighttime rescue, it took about two hours to assemble a five-person crew. Each crew member used night vision goggles, which provide high visibilty but allow wearers only 40 degrees sight range, said Barton, who led the team.
“Night hoist evolutions are one of the most technical things we do,” he said.
The King County Sheriff’s search and rescue team received its night rescue certification in July. Saturday was its second actual night rescue.
Murphy had head lacerations but told rescuers that he had not lost consciousness, Barton said.
Because he was unable to walk for three hours before the crew arrived, hypothermia had started to set in, and he was shaking, according to Barton.
After splinting his leg, rescuers helped hoist Murphy to the King County Sheriff’s helicopter in a rescue harness. Eastside Fire & Rescue then took him to Overlake Hospital, which reported that he has been released.
Barton said that even though Murphy was off marked trails, he was extremely prepared.
“To his credit, he was well-equipped to be out there,” he said. “He was well-outfitted with lights, a full cell phone battery, materials to make a fire and the GPS. “
Tara Ballenger: 392-6434, ext. 248 or tballenger@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.SnoValleyStar.com.
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7 Responses to “Modern treasure hunt ends with nighttime rescue”
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Great story, but you got one very important detail all wrong. Geocaches are NEVER buried. Ever. It is like prime directive #1. It is important to get this one detail correct. We don’t want to give the wrong impression to land managers, who would not like people digging for geocaches.
Great story! However, I’d like to point out that geocaches should NEVER be buried. We want to enjoy the planet we ‘play’ on, and not ruin it!
Just want to repeat the point already made by two others: GEOCACHES AREN’T BURIED.
[...] Geocaching misadventure ends with dramatic rescue. Be careful when you bushwhack in the dark! [...]
Wondering if the cacher didn’t have anyone else to call for help AND if the cacher was charged for the rescue. Doesn’t seem out of line to me. Maybe not the real cost but a substantial amount to make a point, say $500. And where was the cache? I suspect it wasn’t much off the trail and of course30 feet up.
Ironman114 and I went up to recover the pack but couldn’t find it due to poor location information. It was a ten hour off trail hike. We did, however, find the geocache. It wasn’t buried and it wasn’t 30′ up either.
This is a very strenuous hike with no trail whatsoever, but that’s the way I like it.