A few more details here:
http://admin.echopress.com/news/4379858-lost-hunter-rescued-subzero-temps-loggersBeing stranded in -30 temperatures is very serious. Partially incapacitated and out in the open? That's when the grim reaper comes calling.
I guess we don't really need to go through the standard "cascade effect" list that got him into such deep trouble. It's the classic scenario that keeps repeating.
The thing is, as a law enforcement officer, he was undoubtedly involved in a lot of search and rescue operations over the years. I don't mean to be snarky, but I'm rather surprised that he would have made this series of mistakes. It's a caution to us all.
I thought the same thing. I used to live in that county, and it's a huge county that borders the BWCAW and Canada wilderness. It is a pretty stark wilderness with a few tiny towns in the interior. There are lots of no-name tote roads curving through the woods in various states of repair, and most are not plowed in winter. Much of the land there is wet boggy pine, aspen, and brush in summer. The tote roads are raised like berms in many areas above the bogs and so they have a 2 or 3 foot sharp drop to a water filled channel. If you drive off the road, you are either high-centered or will roll over. I spent a lot of time in those backwoods areas and I have the utmost respect. Bears are hibernating now, but there are a lot of wolves in the forest there. I have to think he just got overconfident in his truck and driving skills, and that and the lack of basic preparations put him in grave danger.