RED LODGE — Nearly two weeks after rushing waters swept away a 23-year-old man into a creek in the Beartooth Mountains, search efforts remain both emotionally and physically taxing for the local community and rescue teams.
Watch the search efforts below:
The hiking route known as The Beaten Path, a destination long treasured for its alpine beauty, became the site of a tragedy on June 8, when the hiker was pulled into East Rosebud Creek at Rimrock Lake at about 12:15 p.m. during an attempted crossing. Despite multiple ground and aerial search operations, the unidentified individual remains missing.
“He and his hiking partner were planning to do The Beaten Path, which is a really popular hike in that area, and unfortunately he was swept down the creek," said Amy Hyfield, public information officer for Red Lodge Fire Rescue. “Whenever you know that there has been a tragedy like this in an area, it gives you pause.”
Related: Search launched for hiker swept away in creek near Red Lodge
Historic flooding in 2022 had already transformed the landscape, taking out infrastructure, including a man-made bridge. For hikers such as Hunter Clark, a visitor from South Dakota who often treks the region with family, the area has changed dramatically in recent years and prompted caution after visiting the area shortly after the floods.
“I saw a picture of it probably 10 years ago and I was like, 'I'm gonna go hike there,'" said Clark. "We actually ended up changing our hiking plan and hiked in from the west side of The Beaten Path because it was high water.”
Now, those same high water conditions are hindering search efforts.
Red Lodge Fire Rescue search and rescue teams, along with the Carbon County Sheriff's Office, have deployed drones, ground crews, and even helicopters to scour the dangerous terrain. Efforts were paused last week and resumed briefly on Wednesday. The Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office flew members to the west side of the creek, but the deceptively calm surface hid a powerful undercurrent, making the area treacherous, and halted the efforts once again.
Related: Wilderness educator warns hikers to avoid area near search for missing hiker near Red Lodge
"Unfortunately, while the water has dropped in level, it still hasn't dropped enough that we can see much in the creek,” said Hyfield. "It's formidable. It's deceptively calm up at the lake, but then when you get to this cascade, it's just pouring down."
A stream height gauge installed after the 2022 floods is now helping officials monitor water levels and predict safer windows for resumed efforts with the assistance of the National Weather Service. Still, safety remains the top concern, especially for volunteer responders.
“We definitely do want to find this gentleman. We would like to be able to bring closure to his family and friends and bring his body back to his loved ones. At this time, though, we also want to make sure that everybody's being safe and we can do the most with the resources we have," said Hyfield. “Most of our members are volunteer, and so we want to make sure that the time that we're putting resources in there, whether they be a helicopter, drone, people on the ground, that it's going to be safe first off and hopefully be productive.”
This incident is not the first in the area. Last summer, Dylan Honnoll, a 20-year-old Montana State University student from Minnesota, fell into the same part of the creek. His body was recovered two weeks later.
"The current is very strong and the consequences of falling in there with all of the rapids and the cascades after it is pretty consequential. It's potentially fatal and obviously last year was and in this case we believe it was also,” said Hyfield. "It also hits, I think, close because all of these people have been young. They've been in their 20s, and many of us were either young and are in our 20s or we have kids that are in (their) 20s, and so it definitely can hit home a little bit harder.”
Search operations will resume in the coming week as conditions allow. In the meantime, experienced hikers are urging caution and to have proper research on trail conditions and hazards before heading into the back country.
“If you don't have a good gut feeling, don't do it," said Clark. "The mountains aren't going anywhere. They'll be here long after you die anyway, so there's plenty of time to go back and do something and plan and gain experience and learn how to do stuff safely that's out of your ability level.”
The Carbon County Sheriff's Office and Red Lodge Fire Rescue are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Carbon County Sheriff's Office at 406-446-1234.
