With temperatures in the single digits, getting lost in the Utah Mountains can easily become life or death. That is what sends Trooper pilot Terry Mercer to the skies.
“The tough ones are the ones that are overdue, they've been out snowmobiling, they don't come home, and those are the ones we get called out in the middle of the night on,” Terry said.
Terry and his spotter, Chris Newlin, have been called out on three search and rescue operations in the past 2 nights. Saturday night they responded to the hills above Bountiful.
“They didn't want to go down the cliffs, they didn't want to go back up, they were cold, they were tired, they were hypothermic,” Terry said.
Friday night brought two separate calls. They flew to Weber County to rescue a man and his daughter who had been wandering for nearly 8 hours.
“She was just ecstatic that she didn't have to finish walking down,” Terry said.
Then they were sent on another call to Cache County where a man and his two sons were stranded.
“They are just so appreciative, and so glad that someone was able to get them out and get them home,” Terry said.
The pilot wears night vision goggles and the Department of Public Safety Helicopter is equipped with an infra-red flare that senses heat from the ground.
“I've found things as small as ducks when we were searching Utah Lake for a boater,” spotter Chris Newlin said.
Both tools are invaluable but Terry says there is a lot someone can do to make themselves easier to find.
“You can put markings in the snow, you can build a fire,” Terry said. “It doesn't take a lot of light for you to help us find you.”
