Naples man freezes near Troy
Forest roads in the Selkirk Mountain foothills remain covered in snow.
Photo by NED NEWTON
LINCOLN COUNTY – Montana law officials recovered a Boundary County man March 23 who likely died of hypothermia after becoming stranded in the Kootenai National Forest.
Timothy Wall, 74, of Naples, was found three miles east of the Idaho border on Southside Road after an individual called Lincoln County dispatch saying his son found a clearly deceased man lying in the snow, according to a news release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
On the days leading up to the incident, the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center had issued a backcountry avalanche watch in the area due to a warm, wet storm that delivered “several feet of dense, new snow and strong winds.”
During its search, LCSO was unable to find Wall’s vehicle on the Montana side of the border, so they reached out to the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, which sent out a search and rescue officer and a detective March 24.
The Boundary County team was able to locate the car stuck in snow on the Idaho side of the border, said Boundary County Sheriff Travis Stolley, adding that they also rescued a dog that had been trapped in the car and delivered it to Second Chance Animal Adoption.
Since the incident, BCSO has been alerted of two more trapped vehicles on the same road, also near the border, that were recovered safely, Stolley said. The national forest system road is narrow and features many switchbacks as it elevates into the mountains.
“With recreators and bear season starting in a couple weeks, it gets warm, we see green grass in the valley, and people think the mountain roads are accessible,” Stolley said. “Maybe in another month, but for now, you’re going to get your vehicle stuck.”
Snow-covered forest roads may be iced over and passable in the morning but impassable in the evening after the ice melts to soft snow. If drivers take that risk, they are encouraged to bring food, water, blankets and proper equipment such as chains and shovels.
Stolley said his department would not have been able to recover the other individuals and vehicles had the drivers not reported back to friends prior, who then reported the incidents to the sheriff’s office.
“The difference can be letting someone know where you’re at, so they know to go looking,” Stolley said. “It’s two different outcomes based on being prepared.”