Search and rescue help out stranded UTV riders

PINECREEK – Two Pinehurst men and a 4-year old juvenile are safe and sound after being stuck in the Pinecreek drainage area on Wednesday.

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office reports that on May 15at approximately 8:00 a.m, 911 dispatch received a call from a concerned parent regarding their son being overdue/missing.

The reporting party stated that Kyle Kincheloe, 35, of Pinehurst, left on a UTV ride in the Pinecreek drainage the day before. Late in the evening of the 14th, Kincheloe messaged his father advising him that he had become stuck in a ravine and was staying put for the night. Kincheloe also relayed his GPS coordinates of where he had become stranded.

On Wednesday morning, contact between Kincheloe and his father could not be established, so the reporting party decide to call the incident in.

Shoshone County Search and Rescue was mobilized and after arriving on scene in the Douglas Creek area of Pinecreek, they learned that Kincheloe had two other individuals with him- Jeremy Cruzan, 34, of Pinehurst and Cruzan’s 4-year old child.

Not long after the search began, crews located Cruzan and his child. Both subjects had left the area where they stayed the night and headed out on foot. Due to the tough terrain, Curzan told search and rescue that Kincheloe had taken a different route on foot.

After transporting Cruzan and the child out to a safe location, crews headed out again and attempted to locate Kincheloe. In the midst of the day-long search, Kincheloe arrived by foot at the command post. Kincheloe, like the others, had traveled by foot since first light in an effort to get help or return home. None of the involved parties were injured during the incident and were all transported home safely.

The search for the involved missing parties was done with members from the Sheriff’s Office, Silver Valley Search and Rescue and Idaho Department of Lands.

SCSO Captain Jeremy Groves says that this incident is a good reminder with riding season on the horizon.

“There is still plenty of areas affected by snow pack and rough terrain due to run off,” he said. “If you plan to recreate in the backcountry, plan well and take extra gear and rations so you are prepared for the unexpected in the event something happens.”