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Date: 11/19/20
By: Lt. Bryan Husband, Search and Rescue Coordinator
Assisted Skier: Tindel Wells, 20 yom, Bend, OR
On 11/19/20, at about 9:00am, the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Unit was advised by 9-1-1 dispatch of an injured backcountry skier, a little over 1/3 mile northwest of the Todd Lake TH. The injured skier, later identified as , Tindel, Wells, was skiing with a partner in the steeper terrain surrounding the area, fell and suffered non-life threatening injuries, which were hindering him from returning to the Dutchman Flat parking lot on his own.
One DCSO SAR Deputy responded to the Dutchman Flat parking lot, while another DCSO SAR Deputy coordinated a DCSO SAR Volunteer response. Six DCSO SAR Volunteers responded to the DCSO SAR base in Bend and gathered snowmobiles and medical supplies to complete the mission. They then drove to the Dutchman Flat parking lot, responding the remainder of the way on snowmobiles. Two addtional DCSO SAR Volunteers had been recreating near Moon Mountain and responded directly to the injured skiers location to assist.
First arriving DCSO SAR Volunteers made contact with Wells at approximately 10:45am. They were joined by Mt. Bachelor ski patrol staff and assisted Wells down to the Todd Lake TH, where they met with the remaining DCSO SAR Volunteers. Wells was further stabilized and transported via snowmobile and snowbulance to the Dutchman Flat parking lot, where he was transferred to Bend Fire Department personnel at about 11:47am. Wells was then transported to St. Charles hospital in Bend for further treatment.
DCSO SAR Volunteers arrived back at DCSO SAR base in Bend at 1:15pm.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Street Crimes, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with six K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves the nearly 190,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 230 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 187 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.