Two snowmobilers rescued from blizzard conditions in overnight SAR mission

Summit County Search and Rescue Snowmobile team Photo: Summit County Search and Rescue

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Two adult men from Utah were rescued in good condition Wednesday morning after getting stuck on their snowmobiles and spending the night in a snow cave. Summit County Search and Rescue was dispatched around 3 a.m. to coordinates near Fish Lake after a SPOT device sent an SOS alert saying the men needed assistance.

A team of seven snowmobiles from Search and Rescue were sent out to recover the men. Heavy snowfall and extreme weather conditions with last night’s storm made getting to and recovering the stranded snowmobilers very challenging.

Sgt. Felicia Sotelo with the Summit County Sheriff’s office said, “Fortunately the two men were well prepared to spend the night in the backcountry. They had all the right equipment and communication devices. This situation could have ended a lot worse if they were not as prepared.”

The two men had also notified a family member as to where they were going prior to departing. This was key to the communication that lead to their successful recovery.