Rescue Crews Locate Missing Montana Treasure Hunter

If you’ve been in the mountains around Butte, you know they don’t mess around. One minute you are on a game trail, the next you’re bushwhacking through deadfall, thinking about the last time you saw the sun. So what happens to this guy from Illinois who comes out here looking for some kind of treasure? Not a soul knows what treasure, precisely. Gold? Artifacts? A rusty soup can from 1912? Who knows?

What we do know is that he and a friend ventured into the Highland Mountains just south of Butte. And when they tried to meet again, one guy did and the other didn’t. It’s the sound every Montanan hears in that little voice in our head that says, “Well, this is about to become a whole situation.”

When You Don’t Know the Land, the Land Speaks

The two were new to Montana. There’s already a red flag for you, because the Highlands are pretty to look at, but they’re also rocky and treacherous. And these guys decided to go off-trail into the deadfall. At night.

Throw in the fact that the missing man had some medical problems, diabetes and lung issues, and had taken a spill, and suddenly this is no longer a “whoops,” it’s an actual emergency.

According to KXLF, his ping on his phone didn’t coincide with the spot his wife thought he’d be in, so Search and Rescue had to work a Montana terrain puzzle at night. That’s no small ask in daylight, and these volunteers were on the job without hesitation.

Montana SAR Doesn’t Play Around. They Roll Deep

By early evening, 20 volunteers located the man, stabilized him, and brought him out safely. That’s the bit that always makes me do a double-take. These are volunteers. They don’t do it for the money or the spotlight. They do it because that’s what Montanans do when someone is in trouble in the woods.

A Reality Check, and Quick, for Anyone Looking to Strike Gold

Look, chasing treasure sounds fun. But you can easily get yourself in danger. Here are what smart people do before leaving on a hike anywhere in Montana.

• Tell people your plan
• When in a new area, stick to trails
• Bring actual gear, not “I think I bought this on sale” gear
• Begin early as to avoid bushwhacking at midnight

Indiana Jones is Afraid of Snakes

Treasure hunting is cool. Being saved because you had a treasure hunt turn survival episode is not. Huge props to the Search and Rescue crew, and we can only hope the next visitor, you know, reads a map, carries a headlamp with them on their travels, or just sticks to digging for sapphires in Philipsburg.