Lost camper rescued in the mountains

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A 35-year-old Boise man was rescued Monday after being lost for nearly three days in the Trinity Mountains and suffering from severe dehydration.

Jim Noland, head of the Elmore County Search and Rescue unit, said that the man "probably wouldn't have made it," another 24 hours. The camper was Lifeflighted from the Trinity Lake area to a Boise hospital where he was treated for dehydration.

David Lee Prosser, 35, of Boise, had last been seen about mid-day Saturday when he went for a walk with the three dogs he'd brought with him. Prosser was part of a party of ten people, all gamers who had met on the internet, who had gone camping in the Rainbow Basin trailhead area to enjoy a weekend and play some paintball.

He was first reported missing Saturday night.

Noland said Prosser told him two of the dogs had run off during his walk, and when he went to find them he got lost.

With the assistance of Blackhawk helicopters from Gowen Field provided by the Idaho Army National Guard, teams from Elmore County Search and Rescue, Idaho Mountain Rescue and Treasure Valley Search Dog units, along with the Elmore County Sheriff's Department, launched a massive search Sunday but were unable to find the missing camper. The search resumed at first light Monday morning and Prosser was found about 2:30 p.m.

Noland said Prosser had lived in Idaho about three years and was originally from Atlanta, Ga. "He was a city boy and really didn't have much experience in the woods," Noland said. "My gut feeling was he hadn't gone very far," and teams spent most of their time searching in the rugged heavily wooded area within just a few miles of the campsite.

"When he realized he was lost, he just sort of hunkered down. He was non-responsive to search calls and didn't try and flag down the helicopters flying overhead, even though he'd seen them. He didn't make a big effort to be seen."

Noland described Prosser as "a little groggy when we found him," and the three dogs.

Prosser was spotted by a deputy sheriff flying in one of the Blackhawks about three miles from his campsite and then search and rescue teams on horseback proceeded to his location and brought him out. Both he and the dogs were given medical attention at the scene before Prosser was flown to Boise.

He was so dehydrated, Noland said, that "if we hadn't found him (Monday), I don't think he'd have made it to (Tuesday)."

Between 15 and 20 people took part in the two-day search, and Noland had high praise for their efforts, and expressed his thanks to the Idaho Army National Guard for providing the helicopters that eventually helped spot Prosser.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: