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by NBC Montana Staff Tue, July 30th 2024 at 3:38 PM MISSOULA, Mont. — Two Bear Air Rescue airlifted a couple and their dog from the Bob Marshall Wilderness after the husband was thrown from his horse and horse rolled over him. The victim and his wife were flown to Choteau and turned over to a ground ambulance. Two Bear Air Rescue posted the following: On Sunday we were dispatched to the Bob Marshall Wilderness for a subject who had been thrown off his horse and had the horse roll over him. We treated the victim and unpacked and wrangled the pack string pending Forest Service arrival to care for them the following day. The victim and his wife were flown to Choteau and they were turned over to a ground ambulance. And yes, Audie the dog got a helicopter ride out too!

Funded through a local philanthropist, nonprofit operator provides air rescue services and law enforcement support using a Bell 429. Since 2014, Whitefish, Montana–based Two Bear Air Rescue has provided free aviation support for search-and-rescue (SAR) operations in western Montana, northern and central Idaho, and eastern Washington and Oregon. Operating a hoist-equipped Bell 429, the nonprofit service is supported 100% by Whitefish resident and philanthropist Michael Goguen. Serving a Community Need - Two Bear Air Rescue is the brainchild of pilot Jim Bob Pierce and a group of SAR technicians who pitched the idea of a full-time emergency service to Goguen. Pierce, who owned Red Eagle Aviation at Kalispell City Airport in Flathead County, was regularly donating his helicopter, fuel, and time to assist on SAR missions while ferrying resources to ground crews. However, Pierce was only able to help when a helicopter was available; otherwise, crews had to hike on foot to find the lost and injured. Goguen agreed to fund the operation, with the condition that the service would be world class and free to the public. Gearing Up for SAR Operations In 2014, Two Bear Air Rescue launched operations with a twin-engine Bell 429 helicopter equipped with a hoist, an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera, a tracking system, wireless intercom, night-vision goggles (NVG) capability, and other SAR tools. While the service is privately funded, the helicopter is associated with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) and displays the police unit’s emblem. While Two Bear Air Rescue crews respond to missions regularly in Flathead Valley, they also fly across the state and to remote areas of Idaho, Washington, and eastern Oregon to assist with SAR missions that range from responding to climbing accidents and finding missing hikers to performing river rescues. Two Bear Air Rescue chief pilot James Heckman says the helicopter frequently makes the 1.5-hour flight to the remote mountainous area flanking McCall, Idaho, for rescues that include snowmobile accidents and injured hikers. But the crew has visited no region more often than their own backyard: Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana near the US–Canada border. The park welcomes 3 million visitors annually from around the world. Assisting Law Enforcement - The Two Bear Air Rescue crew often uses the EO/IR camera to find missing hikers in the backcountry as well as to locate people evading law enforcement officers. Using NVG, the Bell 429 crew helps authorities find suspects in hard-to-reach areas—especially in the woods. In January 2023, two people stole a pickup truck in Kalispell and led FCSO deputies on a pursuit through the Middle Fork Flathead River corridor. After deputies failed to stop the vehicle—choosing to terminate the pursuit in West Glacier due to wintry weather conditions—they dispatched a Two Bear Air Rescue crew to track the suspects by air. When the truck ran out of fuel, the suspects ran into the forest. The flight crew found them 100 yards from the truck and directed deputies to their location to make the arrests. Over the past decade, Two Bear Air Rescue has completed more than 1,000 missions, increased the size of its staff by six people, and continued to advance its use of new technology and specialized equipment, including Recco SAR helicopter detectors.

By Idaho County Free Press A Spokane man was killed and his two sons injured in a Wednesday, June 12, aircraft crash at Elk River in Clearwater County. Contributed photo / Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office ELK RIVER — A Wednesday morning aircraft crash that killed the pilot and injured two passenger is currently under joint investigation by the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) and the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB). According to a CCSO release, the deceased is Brian Orourk, 54, from Spokane, Wash. Passengers were his 21- and 14-year-old sons, both of whom were transported to Sacred Heart in Spokane by Life Flight. On Wednesday, June 12, at approximately 11:40 a.m., CCSO received a report from the Idaho Division of Aeronautics that there was an emergency beacon from a plane going off about five miles north of Elk River. Deputies and EMS were dispatched to the area of the beacon. Hillcrest Aviation had a helicopter in Orofino that had just completed some contract work and was available to respond to the area. While en route to the scene a 911 call came in from someone who had picked up two people along the Basin Road who had been passengers in the plane. The caller transported them to Elk River to meet with EMS. Two Life Flight helicopters were then requested to respond to Elk River. The two passengers reported the plane — a small single engine Cessna — had crashed and was on fire and that they could not get the pilot out, due to the fire. The Hillcrest helicopter was able to locate the crash scene but there was no where nearby to land. CCSO then requested a helicopter from Two Bear Air so that they could hoist someone into the crash scene. Hillcrest remained on scene and help guide a deputy and EMS 3.5 miles into the crash scene on foot. Life Flight staged a second helicopter at the Elk River air trip. EMS and the deputy arrived at the crash site and found that the pilot was deceased. They used a fire extinguisher that they had packed in to put out the fire.

Serving the Flathead Valley and beyond since 2014, Two Bear Air’s world-class search-and-rescue service and its suite of high-tech equipment has transformed the region into the last best place to get lost and found By Maggie Dresser JULY 5, 2023 Scott Seager, Robert Cherot and Wil Milam of Two Bear Air Rescue perform training drills over the Flathead River near Kalispell. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon Two Bear Air first launched almost a decade ago after an experienced pilot named Jim Bob Pierce and a group of SAR technicians pitched the idea of a rescue helicopter to Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen. At the time, Pierce, who owned Kalispell City Airport-based Red Eagle Aviation, was regularly donating his helicopter, fuel and time to assist on SAR missions and ferrying additional resources to ground crews — an informal mutual-aid agreement based on a handshake understanding. “We thought we needed to make this formal,” Pierce said. The air ambulance ALERT existed at the time, but flight crews could only assist in an emergency setting if the helicopter was physically able to land, an aerial feat that is not possible in many backcountry-rescue scenarios. Before Two Bear Air, pilots and medics with ALERT would sometimes land at the nearest geographic location possible before hiking deeper into the backcountry for miles to find patients. When he heard the pitch, Goguen was surprised to learn there wasn’t already a rescue service available in the area and agreed to fund the SAR helicopter — but only if it was world-class and free of charge. In 2014, the twin-engine Bell 429 helicopter became operational — equipped with a hoist, a camera, a tracking system, wireless intercom, and variety of cutting-edge SAR technology. While the aircraft is funded privately, it’s associated with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), with its emblem displayed on the underside of the helicopter, visible to anyone standing beneath it. Pilot James Heckman and rescue specialist/paramedic Chuck Curry are pictured in the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter hangar at Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon In the first year, Pierce said a staff of three SAR techs responded to around 50 missions in the service area. The call volume doubled the following year, peaking at about 150 calls spanning the next couple of years. In 2018, the call volume dropped to about 100 after Flathead County dispatchers tightened their screening protocol more to make the best use of limited resources. While Two Bear crews respond to missions regularly in the Flathead Valley, they also fly across the state and to remote areas in Idaho, which amounts to roughly half of their call volume, as well as in Washington and eastern Oregon to assist with SAR missions ranging from climbing accidents to missing hikers to river rescues. Heckman said they frequently make the hour-and-a-half flight to the remote and mountainous area flanking McCall, Idaho, for rescues that include snowmobiling accidents and injured hikers. But Two Bear has seen no region more than their backyard of Glacier National Park, which sees 3 million annual visitors who hail from all over the world. In a six-week period last year, Two Bear recovered the bodies of two local mountaineers who died in a climb on Dusty Star Mountain, an elderly Florida man who fell to his death on Rising Wolf Mountain, and a Columbia Falls teenager who died while ascending Mount Brown in spring conditions. This May, Two Bear rescued a teenager from Michigan who spent three nights alone in the Apgar Mountains on the western edge of the park after slipping off the snow-covered Huckleberry Lookout Trail and sliding into the dense forest. The 19-year-old hiker, Matthew Read, lost his shoes in the process after becoming stuck in chest-deep snow. For nearly four days, he hunkered down in a tree shelter wearing shorts and no shoes, enduring periods of rain and low temperatures hovering around 40 degrees. The horizon tilts through the front window of the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter as it makes a sweeping turn over the the Flathead River near Kalispell. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon In their initial visual search, rescuers traced footprints leading from the trail to the drainage and pieced together Read’s path of travel before returning to the airport for more fuel and to activate the infrared camera, which functions better in the dark. With the sun setting that evening, the Two Bear pilot flew a couple of passes up the drainage and the infrared camera detected Read almost instantly. A rescuer was lowered to the ground on a 175-foot hoist and Matthew yelled from his shelter to get his attention. “When he came down, I was so relieved,” Read said. “I was starting to be unsure if they would actually find me and to have the helicopter drop the lights and have someone next to me. It’s about to be over — that was what was going through my head.” While the infrared camera is often used to find missing hikers in the backcountry, it’s also used for locating people who are evading law enforcement. As long as deputies are equipped with night-vision goggles, Two Bear can illuminate the scene without the culprit’s knowledge and authorities can zero in on the subject. Two Bear Air Rescue pilot Robert Cherot flies the helicopter over Kalispell. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon “Finding people that run into the woods is a lot easier for us than it is for the people on the ground,” Heckman said. For example, in January, a duo stole a pickup truck in Kalispell and led Flathead County sheriff’s deputies on a pursuit through the Middle Fork Flathead River corridor heading east on U.S. Highway 2. After deputies failed to stop the vehicle — choosing to terminate the pursuit in West Glacier due to wintry weather conditions — Two Bear was dispatched to track the fugitives by air. When the truck ran out of fuel in the Goat Lick area near Essex, the absconders abandoned the vehicle and ran into the forest. Flight officers found them 100 yards from the truck and directed authorities to their location. The suspects were arrested. With the helicopter as a resource, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said it’s not only faster and more accurate in locating subjects, but it prevents unnecessary risk for his deputies, who risk their lives — and put others’ in danger — during high-speed vehicle pursuits. Wil Milam descends from the Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter during a training exercise. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon “Imagine yourself as an officer and maybe the person is armed and you don’t know where the person is,” Heino said. “It’s a safety tool … and response times are much faster of course. They are flying more than 100 miles per hour, and it just opens up the abilities to respond and be more diligent. It keeps officers safe, and the speed and response time is faster.” As Flathead County continues to grow, Heino says the sheriff’s office call volume and demand for law enforcement has spiked in recent years, and Two Bear has been an essential resource. According to 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data, Flathead County, which encompasses 5,280 square miles, grew its population by more than 15% since 2010, adding more than 13,000 residents. Between 2020 and 2021, the county saw a 5% increase in crime. Historically, one FCSO deputy assists flight officers in the helicopter during missions, but Heino said they are phasing out of that protocol to divert resources elsewhere. Meanwhile, Two Bear recently hired two additional rescue specialists, bringing their staff to nine. “It relieves some of the pressure off the sheriff’s office,” Heckman said. “They are so busy, and they can’t afford to lose a deputy.” While deputies won’t spend as much time in the helicopter as they historically have, it helps that some of the crew members previously served in law enforcement roles, including rescue specialist and former Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry. Serving with the FCSO for 34 years, eight of which as the sheriff, Curry was already trained with Two Bear, and he organically fell into the role after he retired from the sheriff’s office in 2018. Prior to law enforcement, Curry was a helicopter flight paramedic. “I guess I wasn’t completely ready to retire,” Curry said. “It’s fun and rewarding and I really enjoy doing this.” Medic Scott Seager lowers the cable to rescue technician Wil Milam during a training session over the Flathead River. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon Since 2014, Two Bear has been dispatched to more than 1,000 missions, it’s added six more staff, and it continues to advance its technology with specialized equipment like the infrared cameras and RECCO SAR detectors. Last year, Two Bear retired its first Bell 429 helicopter and replaced it with the exact same model. While the yearly missions peaked a few years ago, Curry and Heckman say the call volume remains high and they will continue to travel in the tri-state area to respond to calls across the region, especially in the summer months and in the winter for avalanche emergencies. In the first three weeks of May this year, Two Bear responded to a missing hiker in Glacier, an injured hiker in Shoshone County, another missing hiker in Flathead County, and an injured man at Finger Lake. “It fills a need,” Curry said. “And it saves people’s lives.” Your stories matter. The best stories are those that make a difference in the community we call home. Your support makes those stories possible. Please consider chipping in a one-time gift or sign up for a recurring contribution and join the hundreds of members in our Editor’s Club. Every little bit helps. Every donation is injected straight into the newsroom

Update Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 We’re gathering more information about a plane that crash-landed into the Hungry Horse Reservoir on Saturday afternoon - sending two people to the hospital. Flathead County Sheriff Brain Heino says Two Bear Air was dispatched to the crash scene at 2 p.m. on Saturday. He says two people aboard the aircraft were traveling from Great Falls to Kalispell when they experienced low visibility. After the crash landing, Heino says the two people involved were able to swim to shore where they were eventually located. They were taken to Logan Health in Kalispell, but details on their conditions have not been released. The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation. The Flathead County Dive team was also dispatched to the scene to remove pieces of the plane from the reservoir. First Report Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 A small plane crashed on the shores of the Hungry Horse Reservoir on Sunday morning. Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino said there were no fatalities, however, two people who were inside the aircraft and were taken to the hospital. Their conditions aren't known at this time. Law enforcement and the Flathead County Dive Team will be on scene to remove pieces of the plane and conduct their investigation. The cause of the crash is unknown. Updates will be available as information becomes available. Information from Kathryn Roley https://www.kpax.com/airplane-crashes-into-hungry-horse-reservoir

By MATT BALDWIN Daily Inter Lake | February 19, 2024 12:00 PM A skier was air-lifted from backcountry terrain near Essex on Saturday after they were seriously injured in a large avalanche set off by their partner from the slopes above. The Two Bear Air rescue helicopter extracted the partially-buried skier, who was swept by the avalanche more than 50 yards though a group of trees. Two Bear crews met the ALERT air ambulance at Hungry Horse Reservoir, and the skier was later hospitalized at Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell with serious injuries. The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. in the Marion Lake area of the Flathead Range south of Glacier National Park at the tail end of a long day of backcountry skiing, according to a preliminary incident report from the Flathead Avalanche Center. The party of two had skied more than 7,000 vertical feet earlier in the day, including a descent of 7,690-foot Mount Adams. On their ascent of Adams, the duo met up with another twosome and skied the mountain’s east face as a group. They then climbed out of the basin to the south ridge of Pt. 7798 above Marion Lake, near an area known as Peanut Butter Bowl. On the ridge, the group split back into the two original parties and decided to ski different aspects. The avalanche occurred on a northeast face with a steep, convex entry. The first skier made it to the bottom without incident and stopped below the run, but the slope gave way after their partner started the descent. Debris from the avalanche knocked the skis off the victim, buried their legs, and caused injuries to their arm, chest and back. One skier with the other group stayed on the ridge where there was cell service, while the other two skied down to the buried victim. After determining a self-rescue was too dangerous, the group alerted the rescue response at about 4:50 p.m., by using an InReach satellite communicator and their cell phone. The avalanche danger for Saturday was rated as moderate and the weather was mostly sunny. Preliminary reports show the slab avalanche likely failed on old snow, and released at roughly 7,100 feet on a convex and shaded slope. Members of both groups were equipped with avalanche safety gear and radios. In reporting the incident to the avalanche center, members of the group cited complacency and fatigue as factors, and said they were caught off guard after having skied from the top of Mount Adams earlier in the day. The center’s incident report noted the party appropriately descended the slope one at a time, although the skier caught in the avalanche did not stop in a safe zone. Otherwise, the center said their rescue response “was exemplary.” “For the skier caught and carried, it was extremely fortunate to have ski partners who acted quickly and thoughtfully,” avalanche forecaster Sarah Williams wrote in the Monday forecast. “Two Bear Air and ALERT Air Ambulance were invaluable resources that evacuated and transported the victim to the hospital for overnight care.” Two other close calls with avalanches occurred nearby the same day, the center warned. Flathead Avalanche forecasters planned to visit the accident site Monday and file a complete report later in the week. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, there have been eight avalanche fatalities in the U.S. so far this season, with none occurring in Montana. https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2024/feb/19/injured-skier-rescued-from-avalanche-near-essex/

A man was injured after on his return from climbing Mt. Gould. Winds were in excess of 50 kts which made the rescue even more challenging. Michael Goguen was able to rescue the gentleman in Glacier National Park Montana. He is the Rescue Specialist with the man on the cliff. A park visitor took this video with a telephoto lense. It is great for people to see not only does Michael fund the program but he is also an important part of the rescue team.

Rotocraft Pro visits Two Bear Air Rescue. Learn the history and get the full tour.

Yellowstone National Park officials announced Monday that all five entrances have closed to visitors — including those with lodging and camping reservations — after unprecedented amounts of rainfall created “extremely hazardous conditions.” Click Here to Read the Entire Article >>

The crew with Two Bear Air search and rescue has added a rarefied new tool to its quiver of cutting-edge technology that will aid in the hundreds of helicopter rescue missions it performs each year. To read the entire article click here >>