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Second Camper Found Dead Near Eagle Lake
Fellow Camper Also Found Dead Of Natural Causes At Campsite
POSTED: 4:09 pm PDT June 7, 2008
UPDATED: 4:23 pm PDT June 7, 2008
LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- A 78-year-old camper was found dead in the Sierra Nevada on Saturday, a day after a fellow camper was also found dead at their campsite.The body of Jerome Smith was spotted at about noon near the steep shores of Eagle Lake.The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said it appears that Smith might have fallen trying to hike out and get help for his friend, 70-year-old Thomas Anthony Hylton.Hylton was found dead of natural causes Friday at a campsite in the Desolation Wilderness, about a mile south of Eagle Lake and just west of Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay.The two men from Lincoln were reported overdue Thursday from a trip along the crest of the Sierra Nevada. The 63,690-acre wilderness area -- accessible only by foot -- is marked by rocky, barren terrain and extensive areas of bare granite. Temperatures in the area dipped into the 30s overnight this week.Crews searched Friday and Saturday for Smith, who left his back pack at the campsite.
3 comments:
SAR Folks,
In case you haven’t heard, the subject of the Eagle Lake SAR, Jerome Smith, was found Saturday. Unfortunately, he did not survive.
Jerome had been backpacking in the area with a friend earlier in the week. They had made camp near the Velma Lakes trail. Judging by evidence at the scene, Jerome apparently had left the camp in haste to seek help when his friend became mortally ill.
EDSAR teams from Tahoe, responding to an overdue-subjects report, found the friend lifeless in the camp on Friday and began the search for Jerome. On Saturday the search expanded to include mutual aid. The command post was in the Eagle Lake trailhead parking area.
A team of searchers from the Tahoe side of Placer County located Jerome about noon downhill from the Eagle Lake trail near Eagle Lake itself. At this time it appears that he may have fallen off the edge of the trail in a steep section, and that trauma from the fall may have caused or contributed to his demise.
Despite the sad ending many things went right about this search. There was a good turnout, superb cooperation and an extraordinary effort by the teams who covered the rugged terrain. In particular the Management team got good marks for an exceptional job of planning, organizing and running the entire effort. As the escort for the family I can say that despire their grief they understood the effort we made and were very appreciative.
The evidence we have says that Jerome gave his life trying to save his friend’s. Whether in uniform or not, those who take risks to save others share a spiritual kinship with us in SAR. They deserve our very best and this mission fulfilled that expectation. Credit belongs not only to those who showed up at the scene, but those who constantly train, lead, encourage and support the team. Your efforts came together this weekend. Thank you - job well done.
Paul
Personal observations: From CP the trail to the PLS started at 6500 feet and rose to 7700 in the space of 1.5 miles. Whew! It was exhausting going up. I didn't realize there were helicopter rides to be had until we were already committed to a foot ascent.
It turned out to be a good move to put the family in the field. They were able to pinpoint the location of the PLS - an eighth of a mile different from the coordinates shown on our maps. For the record the correct PLS coordinates were
N 38* 56.190'
W120* 07.202'
Elev 7686 (WGS84)
Plenty of hikers on the trail had flyers and were aware of the situation. Nice work, management.
Steve Palmer did a great job on the radio as the voice "Eagle Lake Command."
The team from Placer that found the subject had been zigzagging up and down the brushy slope below the trail, hugely strenuous work. The team member that spotted him said he was so tired that his first fuzzy thought was, "What's a mannequin doing clear down here?" (By the way, this man sacrificed more than just time and effort. His wallet is now lying somewhere in the search area.)
The terrain was rugged. Some of it was so steep and rocky that mounted people working on foot wore their riding helmets as improvised rock protection.
Paul
This search was proof of what a wonderful tool Maptech Terrain Navigator is going to be going forward. Many searchers made a point of remarking on the clarity of the color maps. They also loved having the adjacent search segments clearly visible on their maps so they could see how everything related. We won’t always have the luxury of doing a plan the night before but it was well worth the effort to make that extra trip. It also allowed us to tap resources who were not going to be available for the actual search day (thanks Phil Dold and Rick & Katie Blodgett).
We had a total of 39 SAR volunteers checked into the command post on Saturday. That included foot, K9, mounted (6) and management. Nine of the searchers were from Placer County SAR's Tahoe team, including the team that located the subject. By all accounts some of the terrain was treacherous. We knew it must have been rough when Katie Thorne hiked back into the CP wearing her helmet.
This search didn’t have the happy ending that we all hope for but it was certainly satisfying to know that everyone did their job well and we accomplished our mission.
--Donna D.
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