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Unfortunately, that is all you can do. SGT Hardcastle, who is In Charge of Inyo SAR, WILL NOT dispatch any of his posse until first light. The CHP Helo (Inyo SAR's SGT Hardcastle's first choice for Helo Air Support) from Victorville will not launch till first light either.

So pray for the best and follow up at 0600. I have first hand experiences with ICSAR and SGT Hardcastle. They will indeed do their best.

PER THE ICS DISPATCH PAGE the number is 760-878-0383 to contact the INYO COUNTY EMER SERVICES DISPATCHER. Use this number and NOT the number on the ICSAR page. That is their normal working hours phone number. NOT their EMER after hours number.

Do you know what happened, where they stayed overnight, and why they didn't or couldn't notify anyone? Just curious.

Glad to hear it played out favorably.

phlipdascrip wrote:Do you know what happened, where they stayed overnight, and why they didn't or couldn't notify anyone? Just curious.

Not overnight, just a later-than-expected finish. It sounds like he was back down by around midnight PDT (GMT-7) or shortly after that. The all-okay post by awakndbysunrise was at 00:49 PDT.

It's not rare for people to finish late on that slog. I was going to post something to that effect, but other posters had already taken it in the other direction, and I didn't want to be "that guy" in case it turned out that something really was wrong.

Good to hear!

I am also glad to hear it turned out okay.

I hope I did not come off as alarmist last night, but with my SAR hat on, it is better to be called early and turned around than to get called late and wonder if you could have changed the outcome.

Knowing when to call for help is tough - but that is one reason SAR is FREE. If your gut feeling is that something is wrong, I would at least want to start talking to someone from the local SAR team. The Whitney trail is notorious for making people miss their out time, but as the story was told, no one had seen him since 1pm. Also thrown in was some AMS. Calling in to give the dispatcher a heads up that someone was missing did not cause any trouble, and if he hadn't walked out by the morning, resources would have been getting ready.

For anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation, there is some information gathering you can help with before the local SAR assets show up. If you know a place that the missing person walked or sat to eat lunch that left footprints, draw a big circle and don't let anyone else trample them. Start making a list of what the person was wearing and what they were carrying. If you are at the trailhead, politely ask anyone else finishing their hike if they saw the missing person. If so, where and when and how did they look. Hopefully, your friend will walk out a little late and at least it was something to do while you were waiting.