Rescued hiker shares his survival story

On a bitter cold Wednesday night on Indian Mountain, southwest of Inkom, Gary Fitzgerald Jr. recalls his story of survival. He was hiking and became trapped on an icy slope for hours before rescue teams had found him.

He says he didn’t have much energy to try to get over the slope because of a knee injury he endured prior to the slope.

“Just a lot of pain in my knee. I was just trying to figure out what to do next,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald says time going by seemed to be getting worst with the cold after falling 200 feet down the slope.

“I knew it was going to take a while for them to get to me. I hunkered down by a bush and did what I could to make a small fire.”

An emergency helicopter from Portneuf Air Rescue and the Bannock County Search and Rescue team found the hiker. The helicopter first attempted landing in the area at around 5 p.m. The chopper made two attempts to land, but couldn’t due to the rough terrain. Instead, it would take rescuers 30 minutes on foot to get to him. At around 8:50 crews were able to move Fitzgerald to a location that the helicopter could land and air lift the injured hiker out

Fitzgerald was then delivered to Portneuf Medical Center where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office says his cell phone saved his life. And if he didn’t have one on him, or if there was no cell phone reception, he could have froze to death considering the below-freezing temperatures on the mountain.

“If you ever get stuck as a hiker, I recommend staying calm, and make sure you have an emergency kit with you,” said Fitzgerald.

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