Missing biker found with collapsed lung after 5 days in Idaho wilderness. ‘True grit’

Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman

GRANGEVILLE (Idaho Statesman) — A motorcyclist survived successful nan Idaho wilderness for astir a week aft he wrecked his motorcycle connected a occidental roadworthy trip, officials said.

The Montana man survived by drinking h2o from a creek adjacent nan campground wherever he was stranded for 5 days, nan Idaho County Sheriff’s Office said Friday, Aug. 16, connected Facebook.

Around 1:42 p.m. that day, nan International Emergency Response Coordination Center called Idaho County Dispatch and said nan halfway had received an SOS telephone from a Garmin inReach device, officials said.

“The first connection didn’t authorities if location was an emergency, and nan 2nd advised nan missing biker had been recovered live but was successful bad shape,” officials said. “A later connection from nan Garmin confirmed it was missing personification Zachary Demoss.”

Dispatch sent an ambulance, a rescue chopper and emergency responders from respective agencies to Demoss’ coordinates astatine nan Lost Creek Campground adjacent milepost 136 connected Highway 12 — adjacent wherever Demoss’ achromatic 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan was past seen parked astir 4:30 p.m. Aug. 11, officials said.

Demoss was connected nan motorcycle roadworthy travel pinch 2 of his biker friends, whom he told to thrust ahead of him that day, Cowboy State Daily reported.

But Demoss didn’t show up to nan spot wherever they had agreed to meet farther eastbound connected nan highway, truthful they went backmost to look for him — to nary avail, officials said.

The 24-year-old had vanished.

Multiple agencies crossed Idaho and Montana searched for him for days connected ft and supra pinch drones and helicopters, but “no grounds of a clang aliases important clues from Demoss’ compartment telephone emerged,” Big Country News reported.

Demoss’ family and friends besides searched for him connected ft until officials scaled backmost nan hunt connected Friday, Aug. 16.

Family friends Greg and Danielle Common decided to return matters into their ain hands that day, and it paid off, Greg Common said successful a station successful nan Facebook group “Finding Zachary Demoss.”

“We person been friends pinch Zach since he was successful nan 9th grade, he is (one of our son’s) champion friends,” Common said, adding that Demoss’ absence was “gnawing” astatine him. “I was watching nan page each 5 mins looking for updates, erstwhile nan hunt began to dwindle I couldn’t return it anymore. My woman and I loaded up and took off.”

Common rides motorcycles and had a beautiful bully thought of wherever to look, he said.

“We started connected nan Montana broadside because they needed group there. Walk almost 30 miles each while my bosom told maine it was nan incorrect area,” he said. “Started nan adjacent time 5 miles beneath wherever he was past seen. When I recovered him he was 25 feet from nan road. Bike and Zach were perfectly hidden.”

Finding him location was “surreal,” Common told KTVB.

They sewage to nan Eagle Mountain Trailhead and figured Demoss wouldn’t beryllium location because location were truthful galore campers nearby, nan position reported.

“I travel astir nan area and I spot this F-150 sitting successful this pullout and retired of nan area of my oculus I spot a feline laying by nan river,” Common told nan station. “And Zach rolls complete and he opens his eyes and he says ‘hey man I’ve been successful a wreck. I’m successful a bad way.’ And it’s for illustration nary measurement we conscionable recovered you.”

Common rushed down to Demoss and deed nan SOS fastener connected his Garmin inReach, he told nan station.

“Zach was reliable capable to clasp retired for 5 days connected that upland while he’s seeing group stepping by,” he told nan station. “He tried to holler astatine ‘em. He tried to get their attention. So galore group went by.”

Demoss’ mother, Ruth Rickenbacher, called it a miracle successful a station connected Facebook.

“The mates that recovered him was 1 of his champion friends’ dada and mom,” she said. “He said he heard Greg’s and (Danielle) Common’s sound and erstwhile he opened his eyes he was truthful relieved.”

Demoss was “alert and conscious” erstwhile emergency unit sewage to him, officials said. The Life Flight chopper took him to a infirmary successful Missoula, Montana.

Now he faces a agelong roadworthy to recovery, she said. In summation to aggregate surgery ribs connected his correct broadside and a collapsed correct lung, he whitethorn request room connected his enarthrosis and correct ankle, on pinch a imaginable near hep replacement.

Rickenbacher described emotion “heartbroken” astatine nan extremity of each time during nan hunt “as we walked mile by mile until acheronian only to extremity nan time connected defeat.”

“His dada and I ne'er stopped believing he would beryllium recovered successful immoderate different measurement than alive,” she said. “My boy conscionable is 1 of those men that person existent grit….Right now Zachary is profoundly grateful to beryllium alive.”