An MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopter from Air Force Global Strike Command’s 40th Helicopter Squadron successfully located and treated a missing hiker, during a nighttime SAR mission in the Beartooth mountain range.

The mission became the squadrons first full SAR using the Grey Wolf, the Air Force’s newest helicopter. The crew flew three sorties totaling 8.2 hours in execution of the SAR.

The 40 HS aircrew was Capt. Jacques Soto, pilot; Capt. Jaani Barclay, co-pilot; Staff Sgt. Chase Rose, flight engineer; and Senior Airman Corbin Dietrich, flight engineer. The flight medic was Maj. Collin Urbanowicz, 341st Operational Medical Squadron aeromedical physician assistant.

“Today a father, grandfather, and friend is home because these brave Airmen were willing to risk their lives in one of Montana’s most treacherous and unforgiving mountain ranges on a dark and perilous night.,” said Lt. Col. Erik Greendyke, 40 HS commander. “I could not be prouder of this crew and the mighty Pathfinders.”

The Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office requested Air Force support in an ongoing, multi-agency search for a 73-year-old hiker last seen Aug. 21. The 40 HS received the notification through the Air Force Rescue Center at 3:30 p.m.

The aircraft departed Malmstrom at 5:35 p.m. and arrived at the Stillwater Plateau search area above Nye, Mont., at approximately 6:50 p.m.

The crew continued the search after sunset using night vision goggles and infrared capability.

They located the missing hiker in a narrow canyon at approximately 10 p.m.

Soto and Barclay maintained a stable hover over the hiker’s campsite on their third approach, challenged by ground obstacles and a variable crosswind.

Urbanowicz was hoisted to the ground and assessed the hiker’s condition.  

The helicopter flew away to refuel. Urbanowicz stayed at the site, giving the hiker fluids and ensuring he was warm.

It was now past midnight, and the air crew was exhausted from several hours of task-saturated flying.

“From the time we spotted him to the time we were wheels on the ground getting more fuel, it was three hours of high intensity flying,” Rose said. “Our brains working the whole time, hands, feet -- everything working together with the terrible environmental factors, almost zero percent illumination, and high terrain upwards of 12,000-feet peaks around us. It was really taxing.”

The aircraft returned to the rescue site and contacted Urbanowicz by radio. Environmental conditions had deteriorated, making it too dangerous to hoist the men at night.

The crew confirmed Urbanowicz could last the night in the canyon. A bag of additional supplies was tossed down before the aircraft departed.

A National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk from Helena, Mont., extracted Urbanowicz and the hiker Aug. 25 at 10:30 a.m. and transported them to Columbus, Mont.

Dietrich credited the mission’s success to their high level of training and their combined individual experiences.

“The training we’ve been provided through the Air Force and peer-to-peer has really brought me to a point where I believed we were more than capable to handle this mission,” he said.

Rose said the SAR was a team effort by the squadron.

“I feel really proud of everybody here and myself, and everybody else who helped us get there,” he said. We had a crew of 20 or more people on the ground before we took off, helping us gather information and preflight the aircraft. I think the whole squadron came together to make something happen.”