Crews Conduct Three Separate Snowmobile Rescue Operations In Kittitas County

Rescuers in Kittitas County were active to end the weekend, attending to three separate instances of snowmobilers in distress within the span of only a few hours.

The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) says the first occurred at around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday when two men were reported overdue in returning from a snowmobiling excursion near Crystal Springs Sno-Park at Snoqualmie Pass.

A rescue team from the KCSO was organized to retrieve the men, one of whom is from Cle Elum and the other from North Bend, with the help of search-&-rescue units from both the Chelan and Pierce County Sheriff's Offices.

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The two men were located at around 11 o'clock the following morning in an area where their snowmobiles had become stuck in heavy, wet snow - forcing them to set up a makeshift encampment where they stayed overnight to wait for help.

Rescuers assisted in freeing the snowmobiles and in helping the men safely back to the sno-park where members of their families were waiting to take them home.

During the execution of the rescue near Crystal Springs, another report came in regarding a female snowmobiler who'd fallen, injured her knee, and become immobilized in the nearby wilderness.

Search-&-rescue crews managed to reach the 43-year-old Ellensburg woman a short time later and escorted her from the backcountry to a medical facility for treatment.

During the course of the first two rescues, crews in Kittitas County also responded to a separate incident in the Manastash Wilderness area where several members of a snowmobiling party had reportedly become exhausted while attempting to exit their remote campsite.

After an initial attempt to retrieve the stranded recreationists by the U.S. Army Dustoff Team based at the Yakima Training Center was blocked due to foul weather, a search-&-rescue unit from the KCSO was called in to locate and remove the distressed snowmobilers, which was accomplished by Monday morning.

In light of the events, Sheriff's officials are reminding all recreationists that winter conditions are still present in the high country and the weather can change dramatically both quickly and without warning at any time.

They are asking everyone who makes the decision to venture into the backcountry to always be well prepared for all possible conditions and situations which might arise.