Custer County volunteers find missing hunter in Bonneville County

A half-dozen Custer County Search and Rescue volunteers were called out early Monday after an Idaho Falls man was reported injured on a hunting trip to the Alder Creek drainage near Sheep Mountain.

Nathan Eckersell, 36, texted his wife to tell her he had fallen off a cliff, broke both wrists, and injured his head.

Custer County Sheriff Stuart Lumpkin activated the Search and Rescue Mackay unit and Life Flight supplied a helicopter to help locate the missing hunter.

The US Air Force Rescue Command Center in Florida helped with a forensic investigation to locate Eckersell’s cell phone.

The research indicated Eckersell’s phone was near Ririe, Idaho.

Searchers learned that Eckersell had returned early to the Idaho Falls area without notifying his family.

Bonneville County authorities located Eckersell near Ririe Reservoir still suffering from the injuries he received in Custer County. Bonneville County Search and Rescue located the man and transported him to get medical assistance and notified his family to come and get him.