One thing is the 3 hikers had only the lone hikers word
over the cell phone that she was alright the night before
when he weather was already bad. The three had called 911 and then they canceled the 911
call they had made after talking to her.

If Ms. Hall was already hypothermic,
the other 3 had no way to judge.

Also Ms. Hall was not in her campsite but face down on the
trail when located roughly 1/2 away and over a peak
"tinkers knob" from the other three.

There was only 1 atv to evacuate them all, so they took turns
riding out on the back to the ambulance. There was attempts
made by 4wheel drive trucks to get to the crossing of the
Pacific Crest Trail with the jeep trail, but the mud
allowed only the little 4 wheeler to get all the way.

The rescued often come to our monthly SAR
meetings to say thanks and to flesh out their stories.
I hope this is the case with this one.


I am of the opinion that part of the reason the 911 call
was canceled was that the party was worried they would be
billed for the rescue. The previous search nearby this
summer, but
in fair weather, had the missing person trying to hand out
$20 bills to all the searchers as he said he was worried he was to be billed.

I do not like all the talk of billing victims for this
reason. It makes people wait longer to call and increases
the likelyhood of a true emergency. The volunteers that
go on these searches just love to do it. Often the only
government expense on a small search is the coordinating deputy's salary.
salary