By Lisa Lete, EastIdahoNews.com
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POCATELLO, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — For two intense days, search crews scoured the rugged central Idaho wilderness for missing Blaine County hiker Heather Wayment while her family, friends and community waited anxiously for news.
However, the breakthrough didn’t come from the organized search teams but three Pocatello mountain bikers who, despite extensive media coverage, had no idea anyone was even missing.
Brothers Tommy and Vinton Gwinn, along with their friend Shelton Robinson, were on their annual mountain biking and camping trip in Stanley when they say they came upon Wayment in the mountains of Camas County, wandering in her underwear with her feet covered in blood, about 17 miles from her vehicle.
Wayment was reported missing by family members on Wednesday, Sept. 17, after she failed to return from a hike the previous day near the Prairie Creek area of Blaine County.
Her vehicle was located at the trailhead, sparking a multi-agency search led by the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office and assisted by Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue, Snake River Search and Rescue, canines, drones, and teams on foot, horseback, and bikes.
EastIdahoNews.com spoke with Tommy Gwinn and Shelton Robinson, who described how what began as an afternoon trail ride turned into the discovery of Wayment and the effort to contact rescue crews that ultimately brought her safely back to her family.
Finding the missing woman
At the junction of Mule Creek and Big Smoky Creek, they spotted Wayment quite a way off the trail, severely disoriented, with scratched legs, no shoes, and raw, bleeding feet. She appeared dehydrated and malnourished.
Wayment had taken off her shorts in an attempt to bandage her feet. She’d left her phone in the car and had nothing else with her.
“We stopped as she was obviously in bad shape,” said Gwinn. “She didn’t want help at first. She was scared and very guarded. It took about a half hour before she would talk.”
“We got her some filtered water from the creek and gave her a jacket,” said Robinson. “She let her guard down a bit and told us her name and that she was lost.”
As they were assisting her, three dirt bike riders from the Magic Valley — Andrew Mortensen, Randy Ivy, and a third rider whose name was not known — happened upon the scene and recognized her as the missing hiker.
We’d been camping and hadn’t watched the news for a couple of days, so we didn’t know there was an ongoing search for a missing hiker,” said Gwinn.
Getting help with technology
The dirt bike riders gave Wayment some food and more water while Gwinn and Robinson worked to pinpoint their location and call for help — no easy task in the Idaho wilderness with no cell service.
Using GPS coordinates, the onX off-road map app and satellite texting, Gwinn was able to send messages to his wife in Pocatello, who then relayed the information to Blaine County Search and Rescue.
“At 3:45 p.m. and about 50 messages later we finally got word that a rescue helicopter was on the way,” said Gwinn. “Technology worked very well in this situation.”
“The only safe place for the helicopter to land was in a meadow about a half mile below where we were,” said Robinson. “One of the dirt bike riders lifted her (Wayment) onto the back of his bike and took her down to the awaiting helicopter, saving the rescue crews time.”
Thoughts on the rescue
As they watched the helicopter lift off from a distance, the men reflected on what had just happened.
“This is really rugged country. She was not on a bike path and had to go over numerous mountains to get where she was.” said Gwinn. “It was so cold at night. It’s remarkable she’s still alive.”
“We’re super grateful we found her,” said Robinson. “It’s always in the back of your mind that something could happen and you need to be rescued. It was cool to see how an actual rescue works. I was very impressed.”
While Wayment’s rescue is a happy ending, questions remain about how and why she ended up so far from her car and what state of mind she was in at the time.
Gwinn and Robinson say the hiker’s ordeal carries important lessons.
“We all like to recreate in the beautiful outdoors, but make sure to take food, water, appropriate clothing, supplies, reliable navigation and, if possible, satellite communication,” said Gwinn.
“Always tell people where you’re going and when they can expect you back — especially if you’re going alone,” added Robinson.
Both men said they’re thankful Wayment is home safe and hope she’s on the mend.
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