Snowmobiler Severely Injured in Avalanche Hoax
A snowmobiler is severely injured after crashing into a forest service gate while traveling at a high speed.
NBC Montana reports the man was rushing to find his friends, who reportedly called him claiming they were stuck in an avalanche.
The man had called 9-1-1 earlier to report the avalanche. He didn't have a good location of where it happened but headed out in the general area on the mountain, according to Two Bear Air Rescue.
On his way he failed to see the steel gate in the dark. The man collided with it and was thrown from the snowmobile.
Authorities were unaware of his presence because he was not able to call for help.
Around 1:30 a.m. the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter was scanning the area in search of the avalanche victims when they spotted the man lying near the snowmobile. They were able to recover the him and transport him to the hospital.
Two Bear Air was continuing their search for the avalanche victims when the Missoula County Sheriff's Department informed them there was no avalanche and the man's friends were pulling a hoax on him.
As of right now, the sheriff's department is not investigating the incident.