HELENA — Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue helped a family stranded in the mountains southeast of Lincoln due to the snowstorm.
At about 9:15 PM on Friday, the Lewis and Clark Dispatch center received a phone call from a family stating they had relatives who were stranded around the Granite Peak area. That is southeast of Lincoln, Montana and northwest of Helena, Montana
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told MTN that two women from Idaho had earlier left from Lincoln to walk to Granite Peak.
“They did not anticipate or have connections to the weather service to know that a severe storm was on its way. They started their hike on Tuesday. Due to the weather, they wanted to get out, but could not,” said Dutton.
Dutton noted that the women had some supplies and cell phones with some coverage. However, they had to shut their cell phones off periodically to conserve their batteries.
The family of the women had attempted to rescue them. However, they lost two snowmobiles and one vehicle in the snow.
“Our Search and Rescue has responded and located the 50 and 82-year-old females,” explained Dutton. “They are safe and on their way out. The other family members are also taken care of and they will make plans to get their snowmobiles and vehicle at a later time.”
Dutton added that there are no injuries reported.
