WASATCH COUNTY, Utah – A Life Flight helicopter located a man in the Iron Mine area Sunday who was reported missing since Friday, and officials said they believe the man would not have survived another night on the mountain.
The Iron Mine area is located east of Heber City near the Wasatch and Summit county line, and officials received reports 76-year-old Russell Carson had been missing since Friday and that friends had found his vehicle in the Iron Mine area.
Personnel from the Forest Service, Wasatch and Summit counties and deputies with the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office began searching for the man and were joined by Department of Public Safety and Life Flight helicopters.
According to a press release from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, Carson was found about a mile uphill from where his vehicle was found. Officials said he was disoriented and suffering from exposure. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries officials said were not life-threatening. Officials stated the man had been hiking when he fell and injured his leg–which prevented him from hiking out of the area.
The press released stated: “If it were not for Life Flight locating the victim, it is believed he would not have survived another night on the mountain, where temperatures drop into the 30’s.”
Officials with the sheriff’s office stated they wished to thank Life Flight for their assistance in locating the man and transporting him to a hospital.
