Crews, planes searching for lost hunter in the Hills

Helicopter with infrared technology to aid in search

By Jomay Steen, Journal staff | Sunday, October 26, 2008

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Officials confirmed that a white 1999 Dodge extended-cab pickup belonging to a missing elk hunter was found Friday afternoon west of Hill City. Brad McGee, 35, of Onida, who was last seen at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, was not found, however.

According to search-and-rescue incident commander John Culberson, the vehicle was located at 4:30 p.m. on Reno Gulch Road several miles west of Hill City. The discovery localized the search effort for rescue crews and dogs brought in to track McGee.

"They are searching now with the dogs, and they do have a scent," Culberson said early Friday evening. By then, McGee had been missing for more than 60 hours.

As light faded, the 50 to 75 people comprising the search and rescue crews continued to scour Forest Service roads and trails. A South Dakota National Guard helicopter with infrared abilities to enhance night vision was expected to join emergency response crews from Custer, Pennington and Lawrence counties.

McGee is diabetic, which he controls with diet and medication. Although an experienced outdoorsman, he may have been exposed to the elements for three consecutive nights while hunting alone.

Three Civil Air Patrol airplanes landed at dusk Friday after a day spent searching for McGee and his pickup. The planes had flown in grids throughout the day, searching the 2,000 square miles of forest and wilderness that McGee was hunting in Elk Unit 2, according to Culberson.

The state-designated hunting area stretches north of U.S. Highway 16 near Custer to west of U.S. Highway 385 near Deadwood, and west to the Wyoming border.

High winds buffeted the area Wednesday night.

Ground crews began searching for the hunter about 9:30 p.m. Thursday after being alerted by the friends with whom he was supposed to meet Wednesday evening. The crews did a cursory search, suspending the operation about midnight as temperatures dipped to 23 degrees.

Even though Friday temperatures reached 43 degrees, Culberson said searchers were concerned that McGee had been out in consistent cold and apparently lacked food and water.

Officials ask that anyone who has information about McGee's whereabouts or information that might assist in the search to call the Custer County public safety dispatch at 673-8176.