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Missing hunter found alive after four-day ordeal
By Derek P. Jensen and Robert Cook
(c)2003, The Salt Lake Tribune
BEAVER -- Rudy Lopez Sr. was lost and disoriented the opening night of Saturday's rifle deer hunt -- and hours late for a planned rendezvous with the son and grandson with whom he was hunting.
As the California man -- 74 and arthritic -- told it to The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday in his hospital room after his rescue from four days alone in the mountains, at that point he decided he had to bed down in heavy deadfall on a steep ridge for the cool evening.
Then, things got bad.
On Sunday, Lopez said, he hiked down a canyon looking for water. Instead, he found a mountain lion above him in a tree. On his first family hunting trip to the Tushar Mountains in the Fishlake National Forest, Lopez was being stalked.
Without food or water, he spent the day hunkered in the heavy timber, surrounded by rugged cliffs.
"After 10 hours I finally just had to shoot the mountain lion because it wouldn't leave me alone," Lopez said. "I emptied my gun into his chest."
The ordeal didn't end there for Lopez, who authorities say also may have suffered dementia from dehydration. Planes flying overhead couldn't spot him in the rugged terrain, and it was two more days before rescue crews found him.
More then 40 people from Garfield, Millard, Beaver, Piute, Iron and Sevier counties used Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs, horses, ATVs and mules in the four-day search. They know now that a Department of Public Safety helicopter flew directly over the lost hunter Sunday afternoon, Beaver County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Mott said.
"It was so thick in dense cover, we just couldn't see him," he said.
Mott contacted Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, which coordinates fixed-wing aircraft for the Civil Air Patrol. Two local planes joined the search Monday.
Meanwhile, Lopez was able to place his bright orange hunting vest on a tall branch, hoping it would be a beacon.
Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, one of the planes reported seeing the hunter-orange vest hanging from a tree just south of Johnson Peak. By 1:20 p.m., U.S. Forest Service crew members clearing brush nearby spotted a man through binoculars who was waving his arms at no one in particular.
A radio call to base camp -- saying the man's white sweatshirt had on it the UCLA logo -- confirmed Lopez's identity.
"It's grandpa, it's grandpa!" screamed Lopez's family members gathered at the searchers' base camp.
They had traveled from Victorville and Chino Hills, Calif., to be there, and of the 15 family members on the scene, not one ever showed any doubt that Lopez would be found alive.
"He's a survivor," said Mona Lopez, the man's wife of 51 years. "He was a paratrooper in the Korean conflict, and he's a big UCLA fan."
However, by Tuesday search crews and volunteers were fearing the worst.
"This was the fourth day and we were getting anxious because we know we have a cold front coming in," said Raymond Goodwin, who helped coordinate the search for the sheriff's office.
Mott, of the Sheriff's Department, said the hunter's story about the mountain lion is plausible, since the animals are common in the area.
"It is very likely that took place," he said. "One of the theories [before the rescue] was he could have been victim to a lion and covered up."
Lopez, who has some difficulty hearing and a bad ankle, said after ditching his heavy rifle, he used his military training to survive -- staying in the same area "because that was the best way to be found."
A rescue helicopter had to lower a chain saw for Forest Service workers to clear a landing zone. Lopez was found less than two miles from Jimmy Reed Creek Canyon, about nine miles northeast of Beaver, where the family hunting party had originally camped.
"He was very chipper. He was very dehydrated but very glad to be found," Mott said. "He looked a lot better than I expected him to."
Lopez told rescuers the nights were mild, but he crawled underneath brush and rocks to stay warm. Though only wearing light boots, he had thermals underneath his jeans, a sweatshirt and down jacket, Mott said.
Beaver County Sheriff Ken Yardley thanked each volunteer and agency for their efforts. "The search and rescue team is to be commended for their bulldog tenacity and coordination efforts," he said. "This is the longest search I have been associated with."
At the Beaver Valley Hospital Tuesday evening, Lopez's first priority was getting a shower, his daughter, Kathy Lening, said.
"Other than a couple cuts and scrapes, he seems to be fine. It's a miracle," she said.
Lopez was held overnight for observation and rehydration.
In the meantime, family members, including Lopez's son and hunting companion Rudy Lopez Jr., gathered in Beaver for a party Tuesday evening at the local Best Western.
A proud Rudy Jr. said, "My father's as strong as a bull and stubborn as an ox."
By Derek P. Jensen and Robert Cook
(c)2003, The Salt Lake Tribune
BEAVER -- Rudy Lopez Sr. was lost and disoriented the opening night of Saturday's rifle deer hunt -- and hours late for a planned rendezvous with the son and grandson with whom he was hunting.
As the California man -- 74 and arthritic -- told it to The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday in his hospital room after his rescue from four days alone in the mountains, at that point he decided he had to bed down in heavy deadfall on a steep ridge for the cool evening.
Then, things got bad.
On Sunday, Lopez said, he hiked down a canyon looking for water. Instead, he found a mountain lion above him in a tree. On his first family hunting trip to the Tushar Mountains in the Fishlake National Forest, Lopez was being stalked.
Without food or water, he spent the day hunkered in the heavy timber, surrounded by rugged cliffs.
"After 10 hours I finally just had to shoot the mountain lion because it wouldn't leave me alone," Lopez said. "I emptied my gun into his chest."
The ordeal didn't end there for Lopez, who authorities say also may have suffered dementia from dehydration. Planes flying overhead couldn't spot him in the rugged terrain, and it was two more days before rescue crews found him.
More then 40 people from Garfield, Millard, Beaver, Piute, Iron and Sevier counties used Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs, horses, ATVs and mules in the four-day search. They know now that a Department of Public Safety helicopter flew directly over the lost hunter Sunday afternoon, Beaver County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Mott said.
"It was so thick in dense cover, we just couldn't see him," he said.
Mott contacted Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, which coordinates fixed-wing aircraft for the Civil Air Patrol. Two local planes joined the search Monday.
Meanwhile, Lopez was able to place his bright orange hunting vest on a tall branch, hoping it would be a beacon.
Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, one of the planes reported seeing the hunter-orange vest hanging from a tree just south of Johnson Peak. By 1:20 p.m., U.S. Forest Service crew members clearing brush nearby spotted a man through binoculars who was waving his arms at no one in particular.
A radio call to base camp -- saying the man's white sweatshirt had on it the UCLA logo -- confirmed Lopez's identity.
"It's grandpa, it's grandpa!" screamed Lopez's family members gathered at the searchers' base camp.
They had traveled from Victorville and Chino Hills, Calif., to be there, and of the 15 family members on the scene, not one ever showed any doubt that Lopez would be found alive.
"He's a survivor," said Mona Lopez, the man's wife of 51 years. "He was a paratrooper in the Korean conflict, and he's a big UCLA fan."
However, by Tuesday search crews and volunteers were fearing the worst.
"This was the fourth day and we were getting anxious because we know we have a cold front coming in," said Raymond Goodwin, who helped coordinate the search for the sheriff's office.
Mott, of the Sheriff's Department, said the hunter's story about the mountain lion is plausible, since the animals are common in the area.
"It is very likely that took place," he said. "One of the theories [before the rescue] was he could have been victim to a lion and covered up."
Lopez, who has some difficulty hearing and a bad ankle, said after ditching his heavy rifle, he used his military training to survive -- staying in the same area "because that was the best way to be found."
A rescue helicopter had to lower a chain saw for Forest Service workers to clear a landing zone. Lopez was found less than two miles from Jimmy Reed Creek Canyon, about nine miles northeast of Beaver, where the family hunting party had originally camped.
"He was very chipper. He was very dehydrated but very glad to be found," Mott said. "He looked a lot better than I expected him to."
Lopez told rescuers the nights were mild, but he crawled underneath brush and rocks to stay warm. Though only wearing light boots, he had thermals underneath his jeans, a sweatshirt and down jacket, Mott said.
Beaver County Sheriff Ken Yardley thanked each volunteer and agency for their efforts. "The search and rescue team is to be commended for their bulldog tenacity and coordination efforts," he said. "This is the longest search I have been associated with."
At the Beaver Valley Hospital Tuesday evening, Lopez's first priority was getting a shower, his daughter, Kathy Lening, said.
"Other than a couple cuts and scrapes, he seems to be fine. It's a miracle," she said.
Lopez was held overnight for observation and rehydration.
In the meantime, family members, including Lopez's son and hunting companion Rudy Lopez Jr., gathered in Beaver for a party Tuesday evening at the local Best Western.
A proud Rudy Jr. said, "My father's as strong as a bull and stubborn as an ox."
