Search and rescue

First of all, let me say that this story is true and has a good ending.

We learned at our Father’s Day dinner here last night (which was good, by the way), that Brian had gotten a late afternoon phone call on Saturday from a friend, saying that she and her hubby had been cycling earlier; she left him to do one more loop in a forest service area while she went on home.  He should have been home a couple of hours earlier; it was after 4, and still no hubby.  She was getting worried.  And cell service isn’t good where they had been cycling.  Brian knew the area well.

Brian grabbed his running shoes, jumped in his truck and drove the hour or so away to join the by now frantic wife to look for the missing hubby.  Hubby’s car was still parked where they had left it earlier; and his lunch was inside, uneaten.  Not good.

Now Brian’s friends are both ironmen participants, so we are talking about folks who are in excellent shape, but Jennifer had a slight injury and couldn’t keep up with Brian, so he took off running down first this road, then another, looking for Marty, and wishing he had brought his motorcycle with him.  He had Jennifer go back to the car, just in case Marty might wander back to it.  Other friends had been alerted, so Mark and Steph arrived to help.  Mark (a former EMT) called 911 and got those folks there, but they had the disadvantage of not knowing those forest service roads the way Brian did.

Long story shortened…Brian found Marty (also a former EMT).  He had hit a rock about 1:15, so he had been lying there for several hours by rescue time…and was very happy to see Brian’s smiling face.  Marty was certain he had a broken tibia, but he had managed to crawl away from the wet ditch he landed in.  And of course had no cell service.  Brian had to climb a hill to snare a signal to alert the rescue folks to their location.

Marty was airlifted out to a hospital at dark, and had surgery yesterday to fix his broken bone, so he will heal and be ready to ride again.

Brian was just a bit tired after his ordeal, but it was a happy-ending tired.  And if Brian had been the one missing, those guys would have gone out to search for him.  No doubt.  This mother finds that very comforting.

I told Brian “no riding alone in the woods!  Stuff happens.  I’m sure Marty and Jennifer are counting their blessings right now.

Life is good, y’all!  Don’t take it for granted.