SUU helicopter uses night vision to locate missing snowshoers near Brian Head

A Southern Utah University helicopter assisted in a search and rescue operation near Brian Head, Utah, Feb. 24, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff's Office, St. George News

CEDAR CITY — A pair of snowshoers were located by helicopter during a search and rescue operation Sunday night near Brian Head after being reported overdue three hours earlier.

Iron County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Del Schlosser told St. George News that the Brian Head Marshal’s Office received a call around 5:20 p.m. reporting that two subjects were an hour overdue from a snowshoeing trip between the town of Brian Head and Cedar Breaks.

Officers from the Brian Head Marshal’s Office and the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Iron County Search and Rescue and Southern Utah University Aviation searched the area by helicopter and snowmobile, and the snowshoers were located by helicopter at around 8:15 p.m.

“SUU aviation with night vision capabilities were able to fly the area and locate the subjects in about 25 minutes,” Schlosser said.

The 55- and 56-year-old women had broken into a cabin in the Ireland Meadows subdivision southeast of Brian Head Peak for shelter, outside of the area where they were believed to be snowshoeing.

“Once they heard the aircraft in the area, they came out of the cabin and tried to start signaling for the aircraft,” Schlosser said.

The women were visiting from California and were unfamiliar with the area and had been traveling downhill before getting lost, Deputy Jared Burton of the Brian Head Marshal’s Office said.

“I’m sure they just went farther than they expected,” Burton said.

Both subjects were transported to Brian Head for a medical evaluation, but no significant injuries were reported. 

This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Twitter: @STGnews | @MikaylaShoup

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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