SHERIDAN - A Sheridan, Wyo., snowmobiler was rescued Monday night after he was stuck overnight in the Bighorn Mountains, according to the Sheridan County Sheriff's Office.
The 57-year-old man was reported missing around 6:30 a.m. Monday, when the sheriff's office received a call that he was overdue from his trip.
The sheriff's office said in a news release that the reporting person last spoke with the man around 4:15 a.m. Monday, and he said he had gotten stuck overnight about two miles from safety.
While the snow was waist-deep, the snowmobiler had still managed to start a fire, and he had food and water to last through the night, according to the sheriff's office.
Sheridan Area Search and Rescue mobilized at the man's last known location near Forest Service Roads 184 & 185, which are north of Black Mountain Road and west of Steamboat Point.
Another nearby group, Johnson County Search and Rescue, arrived to assist with more snowmobile riders, who began searching in the early afternoon.
By late afternoon, with the missing man still lost, a private citizen from Buffalo flew his personal helicopter over the search area and spotted the snowmobiler near Leopard Rock west of Steamboat Point.
The chopper pilot landed near the command post and picked up a member of Sheridan Area Search and Rescue, who transmitted coordinates to the command post.
Search teams were sent to the snowmobiler's last known location and found him around dark, according to the sheriff's office.
He was suffering from hypothermia and had frostbite on his hands and feet. The man was transported to Sheridan for treatment.
Approximately 27 people from Sheridan County, Johnson County, and expert snowmobilers from the local area were involved in the rescue.
