MISSIONS

(coming soon) 2007 | 2006| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |

TSAR has responded to the following missions:

2007

First Quarter:

Date:
Mission #:
Location: Area at the head of the Mora valley and around Holman hill.
Situation: Satellites picked up ELT signals from a possible downed aircraft. The satellite information showed several different possible locations.
Detail: Our team met the Incident Commander and members of the Philmont SAR team at the base of Holman hill around midnight. Our team drove north toward the town of Chacon with 2 ELT receivers. Several of the satellite locations were in that area. We spent several hours at various locations taking readings and plotting possible locations for the aircraft but could not find a definite location with any confidence. Meanwhile several other ELT teams and ground search teams had arrived and were scouting other areas. Base camp was established in the firehouse at the town of Cleveland north of Mora. ELT teams and the State Police helicopter continued to search through out the morning.
Outcome: Around 10 AM the helicopter located the aircraft. It had flown into the mountainside just below the highway on Holman hill. The pilot did not survive the crash. There were no passengers. The reason that it took so long to find the aircraft was that the signal from the ELT transmitter on the aircraft was reflecting from surrounding mountains and ridges and made it very difficult to pinpoint its location.

 

Date: 2/24/07
Mission #: 07.07.04
Location: Near the town of Truchas
Situation: A man's car ran out of gas on an FS road a mile east of Truchas. He left his car and had not returned for 11 days. The local sheriff initially investigated the incident. Eventually the State Police became involved and our team responded to base camp at the Truchas fire station.
Detail: Starting at 9:00 AM we were given a large area to cover on both sides of the FS road where the car had been before it was towed. The ground was covered with one to two feet of snow and several barbed wire fences crossed the area. One of our teams searched on snowshoes between the road and a creek, while the other team used skis and snowshoes to cover large fields up above the road.
Outcome: Around noon the search was called off because a man walked into the fire station and said that he had picked the subject up hitchhiking, the day his car ran out of gas, and taken him to Espanola. Further investigation that day disclosed that he had returned to his mother's house and she had given him a gas can and taken him partway back toward Truchas and dropped him off at an undisclosed intersection.
Tragic Denouement: An article in a local newspaper 2 weeks later stated that a snowmobiler, on a Forest Service road several miles south of Truchas, discovered his body.

 

Date: 2/6/07
Mission #: 07.07.02
Location: BLM Visitor Center in Pilar
Situation: A woman called 911 from a phone booth at the Visitor Center, saying that she was injured when she ran her car off the road and needed an ambulance. The State Police called Taos Fire Dept. and with them search highway 68 from the horseshoe curve to several miles south of Pilar without locating the car or the woman.
Detail: Around midnight our team was called to search the area around the Visitor Center and along the Rio Grande with our dog team and a ground team worked its way up through the village of Pilar along the side road and along the Rio Grande.
Outcome: The State Police suspended the search around 3:00 AM. Later in the morning State Police notified the IC that the woman was located in bed at a house in Albuquerque. The most likely explanation is that she called her boyfriend after calling 911. He came and helped her get her car going and then they drove to Albuquerque without notifying anyone.

Date: 2/3/07
Mission #: 07.07.01
Location: Broad plains north of Cerro de la Olla and east of San Antonio Mountain in northern NM.
Situation: Four people in a pickup truck were hunting when they ran out gas around 4:30 PM. The dirt roads they were on were covered by one to two feet of snow. They alerted their families by cell phone to their predicament. Two men in their early 20's chose to try to walk to highway 285, eight miles to the west for help while two people stayed in the truck.
Detail: The family eventually called 911 and a State Police Sergeant managed to drive to the truck and rescue the remaining two people. Our team and two snowmobile teams were called and responded to base camp on highway 285. All teams assembled by 2:30 AM. It was 13 below zero. The IC asked all teams to stay put until it was light. One vehicle team cruised the highway where the two men might come to it. At first light snowmobile teams searched the area between the highway and the truck while another vehicle guided a snowmobile team toward the truck from the south. An hour after dawn a National Guard Blackhawk helicopter arrived and found the two missing men in less than 10 minutes.
Outcome: The two men had given up trying to reach the highway after several miles of wading in thigh deep snow and found a small building to hole up in until dawn. They survived the night in inadequate clothing but were suffering from mild hypothermia and frostbite. Their prognosis at he hospital was good.

2006

 

Last Quarter:

Date: 12/09/06

Mission #: 06-07-26
Location: Chamita, NM
Situation: An 18 year-old ran from home to the river at 2am.
Detail: Teams searched the banks of the rio Chama from dawn in sub-freezing weather.

Outcome: After several hours the subject called from a service station a few miles away and was cold, but ok.

 

Date: 11/22/06

Mission #: 06-0-
Location: Taos Ski Valley
Situation: A 41 year-old man texted to a massage therapist saying he could not make his appointment with her; he and his two dogs were lost hiking up in the ski valley.
Detail: Our team responded to the area at 7pm with three ground team members and a dog team. The team used information which the subject sent via text-messages to describe his last location. The team deployed and hiked up to Bull-of-the-Woods Pasture, where they found a trail the subject had described. On the trail, they found his footprints (and those of his dogs) and followed them down a steep slope and across a river. At that point, the footprints dissappeared. The team continued on with the track picked up by the search dog. At 4:30am, the team decided to stop and build a fire to wait for first light. At first light, the ground team utilized the information they had gathered on the ground to help direct the helicopter to the area in which they beleived the subject to most likely be. The helicopter found the subject and his two dogs and they were airlifted out.

Outcome: The subject and his two dogs were ok, but cold and hungry.

 

Date: 11/18/06

Mission #: 06-02-04
Location: Holman, NM
Situation: An 85 year old man was reported missing on Tuesday, 11/14/06. Hunters found his car late afternoon on 7/17/06 and State Police initiated a search mission.
Detail: Our team responded to the area at first light with two ground team members and a dog team. We began at the area of his car and spent the day clearing all the areas around the car. The search continued the next day with many more members of our team and other teams responding. The man was found about a mile from his car with no vital signs.
Outcome: The subject had succumbed to the below freezing temperatures on Tuesday evening.

 

*Date: 10/18/06

Mission #: 06-07-22
Location: Greenie Peak, Carson National Forest
Situation: A male hunter was separated from his hunting party on 10/17/06.
Detail: Our team responded to the area at first light with two ground team members and a dog team. The subject had hiked up to the top of Greenie Peak and got a cell-phone signal at 8:04 am. He was able to describe his location and the team drove the Tahoe up to the top of Greenie Peak to check his health status and bring him back.
Outcome: The subject was found cold, but in good spirits.

 

*Date: 10/15/06

Mission #: 06-02-03
Location: Holman Hill near Holman, New Mexico
Situation: Wife dropped hunter off at a campsite on Holman Hill and was to pick him up at 11:00, but he did not show up.
Detail: Mission initiated at 16:16 hours. Our team responded with one dog team and three ground members, but the subject walked back to the road after dark and was picked up by family members.
Outcome: The subject was in good health, but just late in returning to his drop-off point.

 

*Date: 10/7/06

Mission #: 06-07-17
Location: Chama, NM
Situation: Female train passenger disappeared from the train in mid-route.
Detail: Teams were dispatched, but the subject returned home before teams arrived at Incident Base.
Outcome: The woman decided to get off the train at the water tower and walk home, but did not tell anyone.

 

*Date: 10/7/06

Mission #: 06-07-14
Location: Cunningham Parkuld b
Situation: Two male hunters did not show back to their main camp on 9/21/06.
Detail: Teams were dispatched to the location, but the men walked out before teams coe deployed.
Outcome: The hunters had planned to return before dark, but got caught in a blizzard. They arrived back at camp and were ok.

 

*Date: 10/1/06

Mission #: 06-07-16
Location: E395006 by N405399 on Burned Mountain Quad
Situation: Hunter got separated from hunting partner and caught by darkness.
Detail: Two vehicle search teams were deployed to drive the roads through the night while ground personnel prepared to deploy at first light. The subject was found by one of the vehicle teams. He had taken refuge in some earth moving equipment approximately 3/4 mile from the PLS (Point Last Seen).
Outcome: The subject was cold, but unharmed.

 

Third Quarter:

*Date: 9/1/06

Mission #: 06-07-10
Location: Tierra Amarilla, NM
Situation: Male hunter and his two dogs left the hunting camp and were expected back by dinner. They did not return.

Detail: Our team arrived at first light for deployment with 6 ground team members and one dog team. Before we were deployed into the field, the subject had walked out to a road and was picked up by a family member who was coming to aid in the search.
Outcome: The subject became lost when one of his dogs ran after a coyote, causing the subject to go out of the area he knew. They bedded down for the night and walked out to the highway at daylight.

 

*Date: 08/07/06
Mission #: 06-07-07
Location: US Hill area off highway 512
Situation: A woman in Las Vegas called 911 and said that her brother, his wife and their five children, including a 14 month old baby, had called by cell phone and said that their truck was stuck in the mud on forest service road 442. The family had gone to collect latillas.
Detail: Our team responded with one 4x4 vehicle. Three ATVs from the Taos Sheriff's posse, one ATV from Espanola, and our team searched road 442 and all side roads. One ATV located the family on a logging road off 442 and all teams converged on them. They were helped to get unstuck from the mud while our team brought the mother and four of the children to base camp. The father and a son drove their truck out to base camp. The family had spent the night in the rain in the cab of their truck with only one blanket.
Outcome: They were hungry but otherwise OK.

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*Date: 08/01/06
Mission #: 06-08-06
Location: Ruidoso area east of the White Mountains.
Situation: Two young men had been missing for several days. They had been hiking in the Ski Apache area and got disoriented in the rain and fog, so did not return to home.
Detail: Our team was called to assist in the search. Two of our members and with a search dog responded and were about to depart for Ruidoso when the search was called off.
Outcome: After being chased by search teams for two days, the young men hiked out at Three Rivers Campground.

 

*Date: 07/14/06
Mission #: 06-07-05
Location: Rio Grande River between the Dunns Bridge and Pilar.
Situation: Two people attempted to kayak from Dunns Bridge and Pilar and failed to arrive at Pilar.
Detail: Our team was put on standby while the State Police helicopter and a National Guard helicopter searched the gorge.
Outcome: They were located and lifted from the gorge by the Blackhawk. One on their kayaks had been destroyed on the rocks (the water level was very low) and they were attempting to continue down stream in one kayak. They were cold and hungry but otherwise OK.

 

*Date: 07/12/06
Mission #: 06-07-04
Location: Horseshoe Lake area east of Wheeler Peak
Situation: A woman from the UNM police department failed to show up for work after a scheduled weekend of hiking. Her intended destination was unknown and her car was not located for 3 days until a hiker in the East fork of the Red River recognized her car from a televised news report.
Detail: Our team and the Red River fire department responded to the East Fork trail head. The Incident commander told the teams that 911 had received a cell phone call from two women hikers at Horseshoe Lake. The women said that they had encountered a woman who was severely ill and requested help. She matched the description of the missing woman. The Red River team was sent up the trail as a hasty team while our team assembled the litter and prepared to take it up the trail. A National Guard Blackhawk helicopter was searching the area around the lake and thought they had spotted the missing woman. They landed on the Wheeler Peak ridge to investigate when a news helicopter from Channel 4 in Albuquerque attempted to land on the ridge also and crashed near the Blackhawk. The Blackhawk abandoned the search to rescue the two injured men in the news helicopter and transported them to the hospital. Meanwhile the Red River team encountered the missing woman about ½ mile up the trail. She was slowly walking down to the trail head.
Outcome: The woman had become severely ill while camping at Horseshoe Lake and spent several days in her tent. She finally recovered enough to hike down to her car. She was dehydrated and weak but otherwise was OK.

 

Second Quarter:

*Date: 06/21/06
Mission #: 06-01-03
Location: South Pecos Wilderness.
Situation: A man was two days overdue from an extended solo "survival" backpack trip.
Detail: The man failed to arrive home when expected and several SAR teams in the Pecos area were called out to search. When two days of searching failed to locate him our team was called to assist. Two members of our team with a qualified search dog responded and were in the field beginning to search when he was located.
Outcome: The man had become disoriented and hiked east toward the town of Las Vegas instead of west toward his vehicle. He walked 25 miles before coming to the outskirts of the town and called home from there. He was tired but otherwise in good shape.
Tragic Occurrence: During the search two members of the Los Alamos SAR team on horseback were riding a trail above a steep slope when several hikers appeared out of the bushes above them and spooked the horses. One of the horse stumbled off the trail and fell down the slope and was killed. The rider was slightly injured when he jumped off as the horse left the trail.

 

*Date: 06/06/06
Mission #: 06-07-03
Location: Cabresto Lake area.
Situation: A 54 year old man failed to return from a camping trip.
Detail: The overdue hiker was considered adequately prepared to stay out overnight. A dog team and two ground personnel responded to base at the Questa Fire House at 1am. Upon arrival, we were informed that they may have located the man. We waited for a couple of hours to confirm his identity.
Outcome: He apparently was fine but merely late in returning home.

 

 

*Date: 5/27/06
Mission #: 06-07-02
Location: Hopewell Lake area off US Highway 64
Situation: Two women on horseback became separated from their husbands while riding from their camp at Hopewell Lake. When they didn't return to camp by nightfall the men called 911.
Detail: 3 members of our team responded at 3:00 AM and conducted a road search in two vehicles with no contact. At dawn the remainder of our and several other teams were called out. The State Police helicopter was also called and upon arrival at the search area located the two women in a few minutes. He landed to determined that the women were ok and then directed them toward the nearest Forest Service road. Our vehicle team at the scene drove, under guidance from the helicopter, to where the women would come to the road and met them as they arrived.
Outcome: The women had built a wind shelter and spent the night in their horse blankets. They were tired and thirsty but otherwise OK.

 

 

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2005

Last Quarter:

Date: 12/11/05
Mission #: 05-07-21
Location: Blueberry Hill
Situation: Man disappeared from a treatment facility on Blueberry Hill Rd. We had one canine team in the field and our team assisted one canine team from Gold Star. Also present on the search were ATV teams and Taos Sheriff's posse on horseback. A surrounding area of 1 -1 1/12 miles was searched, as well as 30 miles of road area were covered by ATV's and trucks.

Outcome: There was no trace found on the search. Two weeks later, the man was found by a farmer in his field 2 miles from the treatment center.

 

Date: 10/10/05
Mission #: 05-07-15
Location: Lost Lake area on East side of Wheeler Peak ridge.
Situation: A couple hiked the Lost Lake trail intending to climb Mt. Wheeler. The wife became tired and they split up near the lake. She intended to return to their car at the trail head while the husband continued on to the summit. There was several inches of snow and she lost the trail when their tracks disappeared in the snow drift. She called 911 on her cell phone around dark. Our team responded expecting to bivouac with the woman when they reached her. Meanwhile her husband climbed Wheeler, mistakenly descended into the East Fork drainage and hiked back up to the car. When he saw that his wife was not there, he continued up the trail they took that morning and reached her around midnight. Our team began hiking the trail not knowing that he was ahead of them. They were notified when he reached her and continued up as the couple hiked down and met them around 1:30 AM. The team escorted the couple down to base camp arriving there at 3 AM.
Outcome: They were tired, hungry and thirsty but OK.

Third Quarter:

Date: 8/31/05
Mission #: 05-07-11
Location: Taos Pueblo
Situation: Man was missing on Pueblo land.
Outcome: He was found before the team could launch.

 

Date: 8/31/05
Mission #: 05-06-10
Location: Bloomfield, NM
Situation: An older man with dementia was missing for a day and part of a night.
Outcome: Our team was assembling at the shed to launch when he was located .

 

Date: 8/27/05
Mission #: 05-07-10
Location: Near Tierra Amarilla
Situation: An older man drove off a steep embankment on highway 84 south of Tierra Amarilla. The State Police couldn't locate the man. Our team was called but his body was located before our team left the shed.
Outcome: The man was killed in the accident. No further details are known.

 

Date: 8/8/05
Mission #: 05-07-09
Location: Jemez Mountains 35 miles up Forest Service Road 44
Situation: A 54 year old woman went for a hike with her nephew. She became tired on the way to the summit of a nearby mountain and rested while he went on to the summit. He was supposed to come back for her but got lost on the descent and by-passed her on the way down.
Detail: Two of our team members worked in base camp as operations and communications while two others formed a team with a Los Alamos SAR person and the woman's nephew. Our field team located the PLS after a couple hours of searching only to determined that the woman was no longer there. The team notified base camp of the location and continued on to the summit of the mountain and down the far side cross country to the Forest Service road. They were picked up and transported back to base camp. Other teams in the field included one air scent dog team, 2 ATV teams and 2 horse team. Eventually, late in the afternoon a tracking/trailing dog team arrived and went directly to the PLS and after picking up the woman's scent located her within a half hour. She had wandered down the ridge in the wrong direction for a ways and then just stayed where she was.
Outcome: She was exhausted and dehydrated from spending the night out with little clothing or food but was able to hike down to base camp.

 

Date: 7/1/05
Mission #: 05/07/07
Location: Santa Barbara Canyon in the Truchas Peaks.
Situation: A 50 year old man and a 16 year old girl became nauseous and
were unable to hike out from their camp 6 miles from the trail head.
Detail: Our team of 7 left the Santa Barbara campground at 10PM with a litter. 3 of our team were in base camp operating the radio and assisting Lino Herrera, the IC. 2 EMTs and a horse team from the Taos Sheriff's Posse preceded our team to the subject's location. The horse team began carrying the young woman out at around midnight. Two members of our team hiked ahead of the litter crew to the subject's campsite and set up an LZ for the Life Guard helicopter. When the helicopter arrived at the scene around 1:00AM it attempted to land but decided the terrain was too dangerous and aborted. Our litter team arrived shortly thereafter. We packaged the man in the litter and transported him a mile down the trail to an open meadow. We waited there until after dawn for a Blackhawk helicopter, which landed and carried him to Holy Cross hospital in Taos.
Outcome: Both the young woman and the man were examined and released from the hospital. It is not known what the cause of their nausea was. They were filtering their water and had not eaten anything unusual.

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Second Quarter:

Date: 6/30/05
Mission #: 05/06/07
Location: Wheeler Peak
Situation: Two young men became lost while descending from the summit of
Wheeler peak. They telephoned their father from a camp they set up and said they were OK and could see the Taos Ski Valley from where they were but couldn't figure out how to get there. They had a tent, sleeping bags and food and water.
Detail: Our team of 7 drove to Bull of the Woods meadow at 6:00AM and then hiked to an elevation of 12,800 feet on the ridge directly above Horseshoe Lake and within a half mile of the summit of Wheeler Peak. There were no clues to the subjects whereabouts detected along the way. While we were on the ridge, the State Police helicopter showed up and asked for directions on where to search. We sent it south of the summit to search the area around Old Mike and the headwaters of the East Fork of the Red River with negative results. We then directed it to search around Horseshoe and Lost Lake. At Horseshoe the pilot was sure that he had spotted the two missing men but needed to circle to lose fuel before he could land and pick them up. While he was circling, the two people at Horseshoe started down the trail towards Lost Lake and the pilot lost sight of them in the trees. We then directed him to continue searching to the north toward Gold Hill.
Our team divided into two groups. One group began the descent to Horseshoe lake with the intent of searching the trail from Horseshoe to Lost Lake and then on down to the trail head for the Middle fork of the Red River. The second team returned to the vehicles with the intent of driving around to the Middle fork trail head to pick up the first team. As the first team was hiking to Lost Lake and the second team was arriving at the vehicles, the subjects were located on the side of Gold Hill by the helicopter and transported to the Ski Valley. The first team was picked up by the second at the Middle Fork around 6:30PM.
Outcome: The two young men were in good condition and returned to their home in Clovis.

 

Date: 6/20/05
Mission #: 05/04/07
Location: Green Mountain just east of Eagle Nest.
Situation: The subject, a 72 year old man, didn't return from an overnight camping trip.
Detail: Two men hiked a few miles up a trail east of Green Mountain and set up camp. They walked to a lake and the subject returned to camp. When the subject's partner returned to camp the subject was not there and did not appear during the night. The partner hiked out that day and was preparing to vacate the motel they had stayed in when the motel owner asked him where his friend was. He replied that he didn't know and was going back to the town where they lived. Apparently the motel owner called 911. There were several teams already in the field when our team arrived at base camp. We were given the task of driving to the summit of Green Mountain and hiking down a canyon. Just as we were preparing to hike into the canyon, another team that was returning to the beginning of the trail, discovered the subject near the highway. He was able to walk out.
Outcome: The subject was tired and dehydrated but otherwise seemed to be OK.

 

First Quarter:

Date: 3/15/05
Mission #: 05/03/07
Location: Taos Ski Valley
Situation: A young man skied out of bounds at the Ski Valley and
dropped down in to the Rio Hondo South Fork Valley.
Detail: The man skied part way in to the South Fork and then could not climb back up to the ski trail because of deep soft snow. Two patrollers from the Ski Valley skied down to him and escorted him down the canyon to the highway. Our team of four people was on standby at the valley exit in case there was need for assistance.
Outcome: The man was tired but OK.

 

Date: 3/6/05
Mission #: 05/02/07
Location: Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Situation: A man attempted to BASE jump off the bridge in the early morning.
Detail: The man, when he jumped off the bridge attempted one too many flips before he opened his chute. As a result his chute barely had time to open before he hit the ground. He fractured a leg and possibly had other injuries. The Taos Fire Dept. responded along with our team. The Fire Dept. sent a team of four men into the gorge but when they arrived across the river from the subject they could not cross because of high water. Our team was preparing to send two men by rappel down to the subject when a Blackhawk helicopter arrived. The helicopter hovered over the subject while they lowered a medic to package the subject. He was lifted to the Blackhawk and flown to a spot near the bridge where he was transferred to the Life Guard helicopter and flown to Holy Cross hospital in Taos.
Outcome: Apparently there were no other serious injuries besides the broken leg.

 

Date: 02/23/05
Mission #: 05.07.01
Location: Rio Grande Gorge
Situation: A woman was missing from her car, which was found in the parking area on east side of the Gorge Bridge.
Detail: She was a suspected suicide. We sent a team along the gorge rim south of the bridge on each side of the gorge. Both teams searched the banks of the river with binoculars from the rim and also descended part way into the gorge to prominent spurs for closer look at the river. The police helicopter searched at river level at the same time. Both teams covered the river for about a mile south of the bridge.

Outcome: No evidence was sighted.

2nd Day of search:

Date: 02/23/05
Mission #: 05.07.01
Location: Rio Grande Gorge

Detail: There were K9 teams, sheriff's posse, NMSP ground team and TSAR ground teams out on Friday
Feb. 25,2005. Covered North and South of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on both east and west rims. Teams swept the rims and as far down as could be seen with binoculars. NM State Police team scanned both
banks of river at river level. Horse teams rode an estimated 3-4 miles coverage each side.
Outcome: No conclusive evidence found.

 

Date: 01/14/05
Mission #: 05.01.06
Location: Santa Fe Ski Basin
Situation: Snowboarder failed to return home after boarding at the ski area. He was out all night.
Detail: Our team responded in the morning.
Outcome: The subject was located, unharmed before we arrived at base camp.

 

Date: 01/11/05
Mission #: 05.01.02
Location: Santa Fe Ski Basin
Situation: Three snowboarders failed to return home after boarding at the ski area. They were out all night.
Detail: Our team responded in the morning.

Outcome: The subjects were located, unharmed before we arrived at base camp.

 

 TOP OF PAGE  | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002

2004

Last Quarter:
Date: 12/22/04
Mission #: 
Area: Town of Taos
Subject: 44 year old woman.
Situation: Mentally ill woman ran from motel in night. 
Detail: Our teams searched near highway 68 in town beginning at 9pm. 
Outcome: Found by mounted team & Sheriff's posse, deceased, the next day.

Date: 12/20/04
Mission #: 04.07.21
Area: Township of Hernandez, North of Espanola
Subject: 80 year old woman.
Situation: Woman was abducted from her home and suspected to be dead.
Detail: Our ground team split up into separate units and led teams of friends and 
relatives in a search of surrounding fields, ditches and arroyos. Our horse team 
conducted a search of fields and arroyos.
Outcome: No results.

Date: 11/15/04
Mission #: 04.07.18
Area: Valle Vidal
Subject: 13 year old hunter.
Situation: Failed to show up at camp.
Detail: Our team was ready to leave from Taos when he arrived back at camp. 
Outcome: Entered his camp at 9:00 AM and was OK. 

Date: 10/28/04
Mission #: 04.07.17
Area: Tia Amarrillo Area
Subject: 60 year old hunter.
Situation: A man didn't return to camp and was out over night. 
Detail:  Our team assembled at Cozart's station in Tres Piedras and was about to deploy.
Outcome: He was reported to have shown up at camp while the team was arriving and preparing at base. 

Date: 10/15/04
Mission #: 04.07.15
Area: Taos Ski Valley, Bull of the Woods
Subject: Man.
Situation: A man on horseback didn't return from a ride.
Detail: Our team was preparing to conduct a ground search when he was spotted riding down the main street in 
Red River. 
Outcome: He had apparently spent the night at a friend's cabin.

Date: 10/11/04
Mission #: 04.07.13
Area: Hopewell Lake
Subject: 26 year old hunter.
Situation: :  A young man failed to return to hunting camp by nightfall.
Detail: :  Our team conducted a ground search in the area. 
Outcome: The subject was driven in to camp in late morning by a hunter. The subject had been trampled by a herd 
of elk and become disoriented.

Date: 10/09/04
Mission #: 04.07.12
Area: Taos Canyon
Subject: 46 year old woman.
Situation: The woman was apparently lost near the Divisidero Trail.  
Detail: The Rio Fernando Fire Dept. was searching the trail when our team assembled at base camp. 
Outcome: She was driven in to base camp by a motorist who picked her up on the highway several miles up canyon. 
She was in good condition.

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Date: 10/02/04
Mission #: 04.07.11
Area: Osha Mountain
Subject: 66 year old hunter.
Situation: Lost South of Osha Mountain - Line South hillside from PLS. 
Detail: A 66 year old hunter became separated from his hunting party and didn't return to camp that evening.
Outcome: Our team conducted a line search, along with the subject's relatives, on the hillside where he was last seen. 
He was located on a road below the base camp by an ATV team. He was hungry and tired. 

Date: 10/01/04
Mission #: 04.07.09
Area: Taos Canyon
Subject: 11 year- old boy.
Situation: The boy was missing from a picnic area.
Detail: Our team was called, a hasty team had arrived at base and was preparing to be deployed.
Outcome: Our team was assembling at base camp when he was located several miles down the road in good condition.

Third Quarter:
Date: 9/15/04
Mission #: 04.07.08
Area: Rio Grande Gorge
Subject: 2 men, 74 years and 69 years old.
Situation: The two men attempted to run the Rio Grande River in kayak, from Dunn's Bridge to the Taos Junction Bridge, 
a distance of 20 miles. The water level in the river was very low. They failed to show up at dark and 911 was called by relatives. 
Detail: A police helicopter searched the river for the two men and located them a few miles south of the Gorge Bridge. Our 
team supplied a pack of clothes and food, which was dropped to the men from the helicopter. Unfortunately the pack fell in the 
river. Out team was on standby at the Gorge Bridge rest area while we waited to see whether an Army National Guard Blackhawk 
helicopter was available.  The helicopter did arrive and hoist the two men out of the gorge and brought them to the rest area.
Outcome: They had been dressed in shorts and shirts and had little food or water. They became exhausted about half way to 
their goal and spent the night in the gorge.They were hungry and mildly hypothermic. They went to the hospital and then were 
released.

Date: 8/30/04
Mission #: 04.07.07
Area: Near La Madera to the west of Taos
Subject: 60 year old man
Situation: A man had been missing for a few days and had threatened suicide. His family had been searching the area around 
his house for a couple days before they called 911.
Detail: Our ground team joined several other teams in searching the area. 
Outcome: A horse team found his body.

Date: 7/14/04
Mission #: 04.07.06
Area: Gavilan canyon in the ski valley road, Lobo-Goldhill Ridge
Subject: Woman in her early 20's
Situation: A young couple from Florida hiked up Columbine Canyon from the Red River. At the top of the ridge the woman 
sprained her knee and couldn't travel further.
Detail: They phoned 911 in Colorado with their cell phone. We were called at 7PM. We were having our monthly evening 
meeting when called and 18 members of the team responded. Our team responded with a hasty team, a horse and team which 
pulled a litter up the trail, and a ground team. The hasty team rendered first aid and one its' member carried the woman piggy 
back down the trail until reaching the horse. The woman then rode the horse to the trail head.
Outcome: Both subjects were tired but OK.She send a nice letter later informing us that she had a tendon problem and was healing.

Second Quarter:
Date: 6/25/04
Mission #: Out-of-State
Area: Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Subject: Woman in her 30's
Situation: A woman was missing from a day hike after two days. 
Detail: Our team joined several other teams in a ground search.
Outcome: The woman was located by helicopter several miles from where the search was being conducted. She was in 
remarkably good condition.

Date: 6/14/04
Mission #: 04.01.05
Area: South Peco Wilderness
Subject: Father and 11 year old son
Situation: A father and 11 year old son spent the night in the wilderness because the son became exhausted. The father 
hiked out for help the next morning.  
Detail: Located by helicopter as we approached Santa Fe in our vehicles.
Outcome: In ok condition

Date: 6/10/04
Mission #: 4.10.03
Area: Brazos cliffs near Tierra Amarilla
Subject: Man and grandson
Situation: Grandfather and grandson failed to return from turkey hunt near the Brazos cliffs. 
Detail: Our team joined an Espanola team, plus dog teams from Los Alamos. We had one ground team in the field and a 
radio relay team on a high road. 
Outcome: Our team was driving through Santa Fe on the way to base camp when the son was located by a Santa Fe team 
and walked out with them. Both father and son were in OK condition.


Date: 5/17/04
Mission #: 04.10.02
Area: Navajo Lake in NW New Mexico
Subject: Male hiker, age unknown
Situation: He didn’t return by nightfall from a hike.
Detail: Male hiker failed to return from a day hike by nightfall. Our team made the 4-hour drive to the lake. 
Outcome: He was hungry and tired, but ok.


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2003

Last Quarter:
Date: 10/08/03
Area: Lagunitas west of San Antonio Mountain
Subject: Male hunter in 30's
Situation: Didn’t return to camp in the evening.
Detail: Our team arrived at noon and conducted a road search. Subject was located in first hour of search. He had wandered 
off in the wrong direction and spent a cold night out.
Outcome: Subject was hungry and dehydrated but otherwise OK.


Third Quarter:
Date: 9/29/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge bridge
Subject: Male subject in his early 40's
Situation: Subject was solo climbing down into the gorge. He scrambled down a rubble slope for 200 feet then down 
climbed the first rock wall. Near the bottom he jumped down 15’ to avoid falling. He was unable to move. A friend, watching 
from the bridge scrambled down to the top of the cliff and was told to call 911 by the subject.
Detail: Our team responded and set up an anchor system on our van directly above the subject. Two team members 
rappelled off the bridge 400’ down to the ledge where the subject was lying while 8 team members stayed on the bridge and 
managed the ropes, etc. A litter was lowered by rope and the subject was tied in. A crane was called out from Taos and its 
cable was lowered to the ledge. The litter was hauled out and the two team members down below were hauled one at a time. 
The sun had set shortly after the two members had rappelled down. The operation ended at 10 PM.
Outcome: Subject had a shattered heel, two broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was hospitalized for a few days and then 
went home to heal.

Date: 9/16/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge
Subject: A young man and woman and an 8 year old boy
Situation: They hiked several miles from their house to go swimming in the river and didn’t return by next morning.
Detail: We searched two different trails into the gorge. Subjects were located by helicopter between the two areas we
searched and two were extracted by helicopter. The third subject walked out.
Outcome: All were hungry but otherwise OK.

Date: 8/29/03
Area: Ute lake in eastern New Mexico
Subject: Two men in their 40's
Situation: Three men tried to swim ashore from a boat grounded on a sand bar. One made it and the other two disappeared.
Detail: Our team searched the lee shore for their bodies while boats with dog team and sonar searched the middle of the lake.
Outcome: The two bodies were located at the bottom in the middle of the lake by both the dogs and the sonar.

Date: 8/18/03
Area: Angel Fire
Subject: Man in his 30's
Situation: Went hiking and hadn’t returned by late afternoon.
Detail: He walked out before our team arrived on scene.
Outcome: He was in good shape.

Date: 8/06/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge
Subject: Two young men
Situation: They were inner-tubing the river and didn’t return when expected.
Detail: Our team responded for a search along the rim at various places.
Outcome: The men appeared at the road at Pilar before our team reached the gorge.

Date: 7/26/03
Area: Town of Taos (2nd search of the day)
Subject: Older woman in her 80's
Situation: Was missing from her daughter’s home where she was staying.
Detail: Our team searched the surrounding fields and the nearby creek.
Outcome: She was located by police at a rest home across town where she had hitch-hiked to visit a friend without telling 
anyone. The team ascertained this by talking to a neighbor.

Date: 7/26/03
Area: Taos Ski Valley
Subject: Two young people part of a course on wilderness survival
Situation: They became lost and were out of contact with their group.
Detail: Our team was mustering in the Ski Valley to begin the search when the two subjects ran into some boy scouts and 
borrowed their cell phone to call for directions.
Outcome: They were OK. 

Date: 7/25/03
Area: Wheeler Peak
Subject: Teenage boy
Situation: He fell while descending from the summit.
Detail: A group from the ski valley responded and reached the subject on the side of the mountain and packaged him in a 
litter. TSAR arrived later and met the other team coming down and assisted in the evacuation.
Outcome: Subject had a concussion and possible spinal injuries and went to the hospital.

Date: 7/23/03
Area: Latir Lakes
Subject: Man in his 50's
Situation: He didn’t show up when expected.
Detail: Our team was on standby when he walked out.
Outcome: He was OK.

Date: 7/20/03
Area: San Cristobal Canyon
Subject: Young man in his 20's
Situation: Became separated from friends while fishing.
Detail: Our team conducted a night search in the canyon with a team on the trail and three teams searching areas off the trail.
Outcome: The team on the trail found him coming down in the dark with no light. He had abrasions and scratches but was 
otherwise OK.

Date: 7/08/03 
Area: Columbine Canyon off the Red River
Subject: Man in his 50's
Situation: Our team responded to a call for a search for a grandfather with Alzheimers who was picnicking with his family and 
wandered off.
Detail: He was located drowned in the creek by a camper just as we arrived.
Outcome: We assisted the police in looking an evidence of foul play. None was discovered.

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Second Quarter:
Date: 6/28/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge
Subject: Woman in her 30's
Situation: She was suspected of having committed suicide either from the bridge or off a cliff nearby several weeks before we 
were called.
Detail: The sheriff’s department had already searched the area below the bridge by binoculars a few weeks before. We put a 
team on each side of the gorge and searched upstream and downstream for a half mile.
Outcome: No body was discovered at that time. Her body was located several miles downstream a week later by a fisherman.

Date: 6/27/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge between Embudo and Rinconada
Subject: Man in his 40's
Situation: He had wrecked his car a month earlier and disappeared from the scene of the wreck.
Detail: We searched the arroyo across the road from the crash site and another team search along the river bank. The State 
Police wanted this search to close the file on the possibility that he had wandered off and died nearby.
Outcome: Nothing was found. 

Date: 6/07/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge
Subject: Young man in 20's
Situation: He broke his ankle while fishing.
Detail: Our team climbed in to the canyon with overnight equipment. Two team members stayed with the subject through the 
night.
Outcome: A medivac helicopter lifted him out the next morning.

Date: 5/23/03
Area: Rio Chama Gorge near the Christ in the Desert Monastery
Subject: 2 men in the 20's
Situation: They went hiking along some cliffs and climbed down a rocky chute that they couldn’t climb back up.
Detail: Our team arrived at base camp on the road below the two men and a hasty team reached a ledge above them just before 
dark. One team member rappelled down to the men (100’ below) and a system was rigged for pulling them out. A second team 
arrived and the two men were pulled up one at a time.
Outcome: They were thirsty and hungry but otherwise OK. Everyone hiked out in the dark.

First Quarter:
Date: 3/29/03
Area: Santa Fe Mountains near the ski basin
Subject: Two men missing overnight during a snow storm
Situation: Three men had snowmobiled in to check on a weather station. They snowshoed several hundred yards to the station 
from the snowmobiles and became lost in the storm. They split up and one man managed to walk out by morning. 
Detail: The other two were located by helicopter just as out team was getting ready to snowshoe in to search for them.
Outcome: They were cold, hungry, and tired but otherwise OK.

Date: 3/07/03
Area: Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
Subject: Man of unknown age
Situation: He jumped from bridge.
Detail: Four members of our team rappelled and climbed down a gully into the gorge and packaged the body for recovery. The 
Taos Fire Dept lowered a litter on a rope and pulled the body out.
Outcome: Our team climbed out of the gorge in the dark.

Date: 2/09/03
Area: Hopewell Lake
Subject: 3 men of unknown age
Situation: They were snowmobiling and failed to return by next morning.
Detail: Our team was on its way when they walked out to the highway.
Outcome: They had run out of gas and broke in to a cabin and spent the night. They were tired but OK.


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2002

 
First Quarter:
Date:  2/12/02
Area:  Mt. Taylor
Subject:  Young woman
Situation:  Missing for 3 days
Detail:  Searched on snowshoes on 2 different sweeps. 14 other teams involved in search including dog teams, snowmobiles, 
and helicopter.
Outcome:  Subject not located during this search. Her body was found several months later a mile down the road from search 
area. Speculation is that she was hit by a snowplow.
 
Date:  2/15/02
Area:  Rio Grande Gorge near Gorge bridge
Subject:  2 State Police dive team officers. 
Situation: They needed support in climbing out of gorge after their hovercraft lost its hover. They were on a body recovery 
mission on the river. Our team hiked part way into the gorge and then strung 400 feet of rappel line down a snow covered chute. 
Two members rappelled to the bottom and supplied the officers with gear required to climb the rope.
Outcome: Successful. They were in good physical shape which helped them survive the cold and snow even though they were 
wearing wet suits and unsuitable foot gear for hiking and climbing.
 
Date:  2/17/02
Area:  Taos Gorge Bridge
Subject:  State Police Dive Team
Situation:  They walked into the gorge down a trail to recover their craft. Our team was on standby on the gorge rim in case 
they needed assistance.
Outcome: No action required. They were not successful in recovering their hover craft, however. It was lifted out of the gorge 
3 days later by helicopter.
 
Date:  2/23/02
Area:  Wheeler Peak, Taos area
Subject:  One male in his 20's.
Situation:  He became separated from his partner on the ridge leading to the summit. His partner called 911 and we put 2 
teams on the mountain starting at midnight. Weather cold and windy. One team hiked to Williams Lake and then up towards 
the summit. The other climbed a steep gully directly above the Bavarian lodge. Both teams bivouacked at around 11,500 feet 
after several hours of climbing. At dawn both teams continued to the ridge and one of them made radio contact with the 
subject, who had a small FRS radio with him. He met up with that team and were then joined by the other team and both teams 
and subject walked down the ridge to waiting snowmobiles.
Outcome: Subject was cold, tired, and hungry from a forced bivouac in 3 feet of snow but able to walk out.
 
Second Quarter:
Date:  5/30/02
Area:  Upper reaches of Taos Canyon
Subject:  Woman in her 20's
Situation: She became separated from a male friend. Search was conducted on foot and by vehicle in the general area where she 
was last known to be. One searcher drove over the ridge to Angel Fire and conducted a search by asking around. He eventually 
gained information that led to her location in a motel. There was confusion in this case because the woman used more than one 
name.
Outcome: Successful. She was uninjured and safe.
 
Date:  5/25/02
Area:  Wild and Scenic Rivers near Questa
Subject:  Young woman
Situation:  She spent the night with a broken ankle with her family at the bottom of the Rio Grande gorge. Our team hiked down 
the trail the next morning and, in conjunction with the Cerro Fire Dept. and the BLM, brought her out on a litter. She was cheerful 
the whole way out.
Outcome: She was taken to the hospital in a private car.
 
Date:  5/28/02
Area:  Angel Fire
Subject:  2 men 
Situation: Their airplane crashed and caught on fire shortly after taking off. We were standing by at our shed in Taos. The local 
fire and emergency workers were able to drive near to the crash site so we were not needed. 
Outcome: The plane and both men burned up and the responders were not able to approach because of the fire.
 
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Third Quarter:
Date:  8/02/02
Area:  Santa Fe ski basin
Subject:  Man in his 50's or 60's
Situation:  He became lost in a canyon east of the ridge and phoned his office by cell phone reporting his situation. He spent 
the night out, was in good physical condition, and had enough equipment to survive. Out team, among others, were dispatched 
to cover that side of the ridge and one team, coming up from Albuquerque was dispatched by road to the Holy Ghost 
campground in the Peco River drainage where it was thought he might be headed.
Outcome: He arrived at Holy Ghost campground and was intercepted by the search team there. His condition was good.
 
Date:  8/06/02
Area:  El Vado Lake area
Subject:  Middle aged man
Situation:  He and his son were taking a short cut up a steep bank when he fell and injured his back along with other possible 
injuries. His son went for help and our team and various personnel from other agencies responded. Our team was hiking up the 
river bank to his location when the Air National Guard helicopter was able to make a difficult landing and extract the subject. The 
other responders to the scene had boated down the river and, after the rescue, continued down the river to our team’s location 
where we assisted them in dragging the boat to where it could be loaded on to a vehicle.
Outcome:  He was flown to UNMH and recovered from his injuries.
 
Date:  8/7/02
Area:  Sipapu Ski Area vicinity.
Subject:  Young man
Situation:  Failed to return on a motor bike from a trail ride. We were on standby for a couple hours at the TSAR shed in town 
when he showed up at incident base unharmed.
Outcome: Successful.
 
Date:  8/13/02
Area:  Peco Wilderness, Iron Gate Campground area
Subject:  Man in his 30's
Situation:  Became separated from his group for 2 days on a multi day hike before they were able to get word out that he was 
missing. Several teams including dog teams and horse teams responded. We put one ground team in the field on a trail and one 
vehicle search team on nearby roads in the morning. He was located by a horse team in the afternoon.
Outcome: He was unharmed and was headed to where he knew the group would be. He didn’t want to return to the SAR base 
camp but was told that he must do this. He then requested a helicopter ride, which was refused. He then was able to ride out on 
horseback.
 
Date:  9/09/02
Area:  Peco Wilderness, close to Mora area.
Subject:  Man and his young son.
Situation: Didn’t return from a hike at dark. Our team, with others, was called out in the morning. We were on the road to 
incident base when they were located and rescued by helicopter.
Outcome: Apparently they were ok.
 
Date:  9/15/02
Area:  Gallegos canyon near Taos Ski Valley.
Subject:  Middle aged man from Texas.
Situation: He was bow hunting with his buddy and a guide when he collapsed near the top of the canyon from exhaustion and 
dehydration. Out team joined with some responders from Taos Ski Valley around dark and brought him down the trail by litter.
Outcome: His condition was fair when we met the ambulance at the trail head and it looked like he would recover with some 
fluids and rest.
 
Date:  9/18/02
Area:  Cruces Basin west of San Antonio Mtn.
Subject:  Middle aged man from Phoenix.
Situation: Failed to join up with 2 partners while bow hunting on a forested ridge. We put one ground team in the field and 
one vehicle team searching roads. A line search was conducted on the ridge by the ground team until after dark. The weather 
was cold and the ground was wet. After dark it began to snow. The subject was not located at this time. This was to be the 
2nd night he spent out with minimal gear,food and water. Base camp had to be withdrawn from the area because of the 
incoming snow storm. Our team returned home that night. 
Outcome:  The subject was located the next day by helicopter and picked up and brought to the newly established base camp. 
He was cold and hungry but otherwise OK.
 
Date:  9/24/02
Area:  Sipapu Ski Area vicinity
Subject:  3 people in their 20’s
Situation: They were all riding on a special 6-wheel ATV when it rolled over pinning one person underneath. Luckily a group 
hiking on the same trail came upon them immediately after the accident and were able to extricate the person pinned under the 
ATV. Help was sent for, as one of the subjects was a paraplegic and the one of the other people had a broken ankle, and 
another person had a broken collar bone. Our team monitored one trailed where a forest service responder was coming out 
and another part of our team waited at the main trailed and supplied food and blankets to be taken up the subjects. The 
injured parties were brought down by an ATV team from Angel Fire.
Outcome: All three subjects arrived at the trailed injured but in good spirits and were taken to the hospital by ambulance.
 
Date:  9/30/02
Area:  Cabresto Canyon near Questa
Subject:  Middle aged man with epilepsy
Situation:  He was left at the car by his brother who went to hunt on a nearby hillside. When the hunter returned, the subject 
was gone. We were called the next morning and searched the area where the car was parked. We followed, what were probably, 
his tracks down the road towards town for a couple miles before we lost them. We also searched the hillside where the hunter
 had been hunting. No clues were found. We returned home that afternoon with no result.
Outcome: We learned the next day that the subject had been picked up walking on the highway between Questa and Arroyo 
Hondo. He apparently had just wandered off and spent the night out somewhere.
 
Last Quarter:
Date:  10/02/02
Area:  Rio Grande River near the Junction Bridge
Subject:  2 small children, one 4 yrs old and one 1 year old.
Situation:  The mother had been found drowned in the river and the 2 
children were missing. We were called to search the river banks below the bridge.
Outcome: Out team found both children in the river, apparently drown by their mother.
 
Date:  10/06/02
Area:  Osha Mt. Above Black Lake near Angel Fire
Subject:  Middle aged male hunter.
Situation: He failed to return to camp the night before. We joined several other teams in the search. Our team hiked down a 
canyon below a ridge where a dog team thought that they had tracked the subject to the edge of a talus field. Our team spent 
most of the day going down the canyon and came out on private land at the bottom. We were waiting to be picked by truck 
when the message came that he had been located a several miles from where we were looking.
Outcome: He had a sprained knee and had difficulty walking but was otherwise OK.
 
Date:  10/17/02
Area:  Pedernal Mesa, east of Abiquiu
Subject:  Man in his 20's
Situation: Became separated from his friends on a hike and didn’t return to camp by nightfall. His friends called 911 early 
next morning. We responded at 6:00 AM and were approaching base camp when he walked in.
Outcome: He was cold and hungry but OK.
 
Date:  12/01/02
Area:  Seco canyon near Arroyo Seco.
Subject:  2 young men
Situation:  Party of 4 or 5 climbed Vallecito Mtn. and started a ski descent. Two of them discovered that they couldn't ski 
on the skis they had brought so started walking down and were caught by darkness. They bivouacked and built a fire. One 
of the two was diabetic and it was unknown whether he had insulin with him. Our team started up Seco Canyon at midnight 
and arrived at their campsite around dawn. The diabetic was given some glucotabs and the two walked out with our team.
Outcome: They were cold and hungry but OK.



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