alyeska338
08-22-2004, 10:45 AM
Helicopter had difficult time finding mauled sheep hunter
RESCUE: Man waited 3 hours for aircraft after he was attacked.
The Associated Press
(Published: August 22, 2004)
FAIRBANKS -- A Fairbanks man attacked by a grizzly east of Healy ended up with a punctured lung, a puncture wound on his neck and a shattered leg, according to a friend who visited him in the hospital and who years ago also experienced a bear attack.
Jim Johnson, 52, survived the mauling Friday, then called 911 on his cell phone for help. He waited three hours before a military helicopter found him.
Johnson was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering.
Johnson's encounter with the bear occurred near his camp at the confluence of the Little Delta River and Forgotten Creek, said Johnny McCoy, pastor of the First Baptist of North Pole and a substitute pastor at Johnson's church in Fairbanks.
McCoy, who knows firsthand about bear attacks, visited Johnson at the hospital.
"He lost a lot of blood," McCoy told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. "His head was covered in blood."
McCoy and longtime hunting partner Gary Corle were hunting moose three years ago when a bear rushed them. Corle managed to get a shot off before the bear turned on McCoy and chewed both of his arms and held his head in its jaws. McCoy's ear was ripped off and his eye hung outside the socket.
McCoy's encounter with a sow that nearly killed him happened not far from where Johnson's tangle, also with a sow grizzly, occurred.
Johnson's call reached the Fairbanks Police Department dispatch center, then was forwarded to the Alaska State Troopers at 9:17 a.m. Friday.
The 68th Medical Company got the notice but couldn't leave Fort Wainwright right away because of dense forest fire smoke in the area. Once in the air, the helicopter crew had trouble finding Johnson because the location they were given was off the mark.
They landed the helicopter several times and made calls on a satellite phone, trying to get updates that would lead them to the injured hunter, said Army Capt. Steve Pruitt, one of the two pilots who flew the Black Hawk during the rescue.
"I didn't want anything bad to happen to him and we were right there," Pruitt said. "It was pretty frustrating."
They saw several bears roaming the area that Pruitt estimated was within five miles of Johnson's camp.
Sgt. Jeff Turner, a medic on the Army Black Hawk helicopter, said Johnson told him the helicopter flew over him at least once before it found him. Johnson's camp was set up so it blended in with the scenery and wasn't very visible from the air, Turner said.
The smoke also required the helicopter to fly closer to the ground, Pruitt said, instead of flying at an altitude that would allow them to view more land.
Finally, one of the crew members spotted the reflective foil space blanket Johnson was lying under while he waited.
"We just took the right turn in the right spot and there he was," Pruitt said.
Turner said they stabilized Johnson and packed him as the crew kept an eye out for bears in the area. The second pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Three Troy Dabney, stood as a lookout while Turner and crew chief Cpl. Mark Glenar prepared Johnson for the flight.
"From what I understand, he was packing up to leave, he was on a ridge line, in the saddle of the ridge and she came up over the lip," Turner said.
Johnson saw the sow with her two cubs but didn't have much time to react when she charged. He dove for his gun nearby.
"She beat him to it," Turner said. "She bit him a couple of times, batted him around a couple of times and then left."
RESCUE: Man waited 3 hours for aircraft after he was attacked.
The Associated Press
(Published: August 22, 2004)
FAIRBANKS -- A Fairbanks man attacked by a grizzly east of Healy ended up with a punctured lung, a puncture wound on his neck and a shattered leg, according to a friend who visited him in the hospital and who years ago also experienced a bear attack.
Jim Johnson, 52, survived the mauling Friday, then called 911 on his cell phone for help. He waited three hours before a military helicopter found him.
Johnson was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he is recovering.
Johnson's encounter with the bear occurred near his camp at the confluence of the Little Delta River and Forgotten Creek, said Johnny McCoy, pastor of the First Baptist of North Pole and a substitute pastor at Johnson's church in Fairbanks.
McCoy, who knows firsthand about bear attacks, visited Johnson at the hospital.
"He lost a lot of blood," McCoy told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. "His head was covered in blood."
McCoy and longtime hunting partner Gary Corle were hunting moose three years ago when a bear rushed them. Corle managed to get a shot off before the bear turned on McCoy and chewed both of his arms and held his head in its jaws. McCoy's ear was ripped off and his eye hung outside the socket.
McCoy's encounter with a sow that nearly killed him happened not far from where Johnson's tangle, also with a sow grizzly, occurred.
Johnson's call reached the Fairbanks Police Department dispatch center, then was forwarded to the Alaska State Troopers at 9:17 a.m. Friday.
The 68th Medical Company got the notice but couldn't leave Fort Wainwright right away because of dense forest fire smoke in the area. Once in the air, the helicopter crew had trouble finding Johnson because the location they were given was off the mark.
They landed the helicopter several times and made calls on a satellite phone, trying to get updates that would lead them to the injured hunter, said Army Capt. Steve Pruitt, one of the two pilots who flew the Black Hawk during the rescue.
"I didn't want anything bad to happen to him and we were right there," Pruitt said. "It was pretty frustrating."
They saw several bears roaming the area that Pruitt estimated was within five miles of Johnson's camp.
Sgt. Jeff Turner, a medic on the Army Black Hawk helicopter, said Johnson told him the helicopter flew over him at least once before it found him. Johnson's camp was set up so it blended in with the scenery and wasn't very visible from the air, Turner said.
The smoke also required the helicopter to fly closer to the ground, Pruitt said, instead of flying at an altitude that would allow them to view more land.
Finally, one of the crew members spotted the reflective foil space blanket Johnson was lying under while he waited.
"We just took the right turn in the right spot and there he was," Pruitt said.
Turner said they stabilized Johnson and packed him as the crew kept an eye out for bears in the area. The second pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Three Troy Dabney, stood as a lookout while Turner and crew chief Cpl. Mark Glenar prepared Johnson for the flight.
"From what I understand, he was packing up to leave, he was on a ridge line, in the saddle of the ridge and she came up over the lip," Turner said.
Johnson saw the sow with her two cubs but didn't have much time to react when she charged. He dove for his gun nearby.
"She beat him to it," Turner said. "She bit him a couple of times, batted him around a couple of times and then left."