Questions that I'd bring up in court:

(1) Did anyone in the family REQUEST search and rescue? If they did, were they informed of possible costs they may incur?

(2) Is "leaving the trail" a slam-dunk "negligent" action?

(3) What OTHER search and rescue actions have been undertaken in the past, with circumstances similar to this one, and what charges were levied for those? Justify why the charges in THIS case are higher/lower than other cases.

(4) Itemize the actual costs involved and detail where (speciically) any money collected will go (to the SAR group?, etc.)

Rescue is costly. Groups should be reimbursed where appropriate. But from what I read here, I would need convincing that $25K is appropriate in this case. Willing to listen - but initially very skeptical.