North Idaho Man Snowmobiling Had Little Hope of Rescue

MULLAN, Idaho (AP) — A northern Idaho man who went missing during a weekend snowmobile outing says he had given up any hope of surviving when his friends found him, hypothermic and dehydrated, in a ravine in northwestern Montana.

Barry Sadler of Mullan says he took a wrong turn on Sunday, the snow gave way and he ended up in a creek with his snowmobile on top of him. He was able to push the sled away and intermittently ran its engine for heat over the next 30-plus hours.

He says he had written notes to his wife and kids on his cellphone and expected to freeze to death when the sled ran out of gas at about 10 p.m. Monday. But two hours later, five friends who had followed his snowmobile tracks rescued him.