6 missing snowmobilers found alive, hungry

CONEJOS COUNTY – Friends and family rejoiced after learning that six members of two families had been found alive. They had been missing on a snowmobile trip since Friday.

The Conejos County Sheriff's Office says the six people were last seen Friday, 30 miles north of Chama, N.M., just north of 10,222-foot-high Cumbres Pass, before a winter storm dumped three to four feet of snow on the area.

New Mexico State Police say the snowmobilers left at about 10 a.m. They were scheduled to be back by 6 p.m. Friday, but never made it.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Barbara Smith says they called 911 from an isolated and snowbound train station, and said they were cold and hungry–but otherwise all right.

One of the six, Missy Martin, told reporters, "We broke in there and found some popcorn and gravy mix and that's what we've been living on for three days."

A smiling Martin went on to say, "I feel good, tired, I feel really good though . . . We just got lost."

Friends and family celebrated after hearing the news. Click on the video link to left to view raw video of their celebrations.

Smith says crews meet the six, who took refuge at Osier Station, a small wooden building that serves as a summertime stop on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad–a narrow-gauge tourist line.

The two families, from Farmington, N.M., consist of:
Jason Groen, 36; Shannon Groen, 31; Aspen Groen, 14; Mike Martin and Missy Martin, both said to be in their 30s and Jessie Martin, 14.

 

If you recall from my recent topic (Railfanning Colorado {Tons of Photos/Video!!!!!!!}) that covered the Cumbres & Toltec one of the many images was this one taken of the train station at Osier, CO that during the winter can be very snowbound. We have had several feet of snow fall in this area in the last couple of days and this is just one of many stories of trouble in the back country. This family was lucky they found this train station.

 

Those folks were really lucky. It was a really bad storm for this part of the world. Guess it just goes to show that railroads can actually save lives

 

To give non-D&RGW folks a feel for how deep/fast snow can hit this area

DURANGO - Power is expected to be restored Tuesday to most residents in the Durango area after a powerful winter storm dumped heavy snow across La Plata County.


The storm that rolled into Colorado on Saturday dumped nearly four feet of snow in southwestern Colorado, including more than a foot in Durango before moving out Monday night.

Butch Knowlton, Director of the Office of Emergency Management for La Plata County, says the snow from the recent storm was extremely wet and heavy, which caused branches and even some trees to snap and fall under its weight. Power lines were affected across the county.

Knowlton says the outage affected the east part of the county, all the way to Bayfield and Vallecito Reservoir.

More than 2,000 homes have been without power since Sunday. Officials set up a shelter at Bayfield High School, though Superintendent Don Magill says some people couldn't make it out of their homes because of the snow. The shelter is being supplied by the Red Cross. For additional shelter information, contact the Southwest Colorado Chapter American Red Cross at 970-259-5383.

About 40 people stayed in the shelter Monday night, according to Knowlton. He says the snow removal effort has been difficult and there is still extremely deep snow on driveways and roads. Knowlton says people are working day and night to dig out driveways and residential roads, but no county roads were ever closed due to the snowfall. People seeking highway information should call the Colorado Department of Transportation at 1-877-315-7623.

Knowlton called the community "very resilient" and says many people were staying in motels or with friends who still had power. He says road and bridge crews have been doing a great job keeping those areas clear.

Crews have been tracking down and repairing the damaged power lines, restoring power to the thousands who were affected, however, Knowlton says some residents could still be without power for a few more days.

The La Plata Electrical Association has brought in neighboring crews from Cortez, Junction, New Mexico and the San Luis Valley to assist getting the lines back up. Knowlton says crews are working around the clock to restore the power to the area.

Knowlton says it has been difficult to keep up with the repair needs and it has been a significant hit to the La Plata County infrastructure.

According to Knowlton, it's been a long time since a storm of this significance has hit the area and he says much of the population new to the area has never seen a storm of this magnitude.

Additionally, Knowlton says there are about 75 large livestock animals, such as horses, which have been marooned near the reservoir, in the north east corner of the county. He says emergency management personnel were able to bring the owner to the animals on Monday and they were very low on food, causing great concern for the animals' welfare.

Knowlton says an effort has been launched to secure the welfare of the large animals, but they may need to employ the use of heavy equipment since the animals are in a canyon and they won't be able to get air support for that reason.

Southern Ute Tribal members needing assistance should contact Southern Ute Dispatch at 970-563-4401.

Residents can also call the La Plata County Public Hotline at 970-385-8700.

 

If I recall correctly, isn't Osier the huge building where they serve the buffet lunches during the stop on the ride? That's probably why they found some gravy mix left over, although the concessionaire had probably intended to remove everything at the end of the season.

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Yes, that building is there as well but from what I understand they actually got into either the Station or Section House itself. The C&TS RR is currently closed for the winter so these folks are truly luckly they found any food in these buildings

 

I will keep you posted if I learn more but sadly we are still missing others in the back country. We currently have a major search still going on in this area for two more folks from Albuquerque, N.M that are still missing and I udnerstand they were not prepared for conditions like what can hit this area. Many avalanches have been recorded over the last few days which was typical for the D&RGW to face during the winter operations, one was reports being ~500 feet across when it came down one of the mountain sides. If you ever go Railfanning, etc. in this area make sure you are prepared for conditions to change in a hurry and have ways for folks to find you quickly.

:tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:​