NZGAC Hunter Education. Enabling better education and safer hunting practices.

FREEZING TRIP

Hunter becomes the hunted

Shots in the dark find man lost in snow

JONATHAN CARSON        23/09/2014

                                                         

Karl Cossgrove was rescued from the Rainy River area after becoming lost during a hunting trip.

 

Huddled under a makeshift shelter in darkness and heavy snow, Karl Cossgrove loaded his rifle and fired a shot.

 

The Nelson 24-year-old had set out for a spontaneous hunt after finishing work on a farm near Rainy River, north of St Arnaud, about 2pm on Friday. It was meant to be a half-hour jaunt, but several hours later he was wet, freezing cold and lost. As he sat in his shelter made of tree branches and ferns he heard the faint sound of a police siren somewhere in the darkness. It was about 9.30pm. Up on a distant ridge, Constable Mike McDougall of Murchison police was flashing the lights of his four-wheel-drive vehicle and sounding the siren.

 

Cossgrove, an experienced bushman, had called police on his cellphone when he realised he was badly lost about 5.30pm. He told the 111 operator where he thought he was, and then his phone battery died.

 

McDougall and two local farmers had headed into the dense bush, between State Highway 63 and the Rainy River, soon after Cossgrove's 111 call. On the ridge, one of the farmers fired his rifle into the air and they all hollered into the black. Then they listened.

 

"After about 45 minutes we thought we heard a shot," McDougall said. "So we concentrated on a big basin. "We couldn't see because it was pitch black and by that stage it was snowing quite heavily." After yelling, whistling and listening he heard a faint voice in the distance.

"So we let off a few more rounds and the hunter let off a couple of rounds." By now, Sergeant Rob Crawford had joined McDougall and two search and rescue (SAR) teams had been dispatched from Nelson and Tapawera.

 

The policemen and farmers formed a daisy chain and moved slowly into a gully, towards the sound of the gun shots. "I was on the end of the chain and I went a little bit further and then a little bit further and I lost sight of the torch behind me," McDougall said.

"And I could still hear him every now and then just fading in and out."

 

The SAR teams were two hours away and McDougall was worried Cossgrove might not make it that long. He decided to split from the group and yelled to the others: "I think I can find him. I'm gonna carry on." Earlier this year, the rescue helicopter retrieved Cossgrove from Mt Robert after he fell and injured his knee. He didn't have crampons and it was getting dark, so he called police. On Friday, Cossgrove was following two deer when he got lost. He hadn't taken much gear. His torch wasn't working. He didn't bring his personal locator beacon.

 

"I was prepared to spend the night and start again in the morning," he said. "Then it started to snow. It got really cold. At the end of the night there must have been at least a foot of snow on the ground."

 

With only a police raincoat over his uniform and boots that weren't waterproof, McDougall was starting to feel the cold, too. "By the time I did actually find him he was pretty relieved and he was fine," McDougall said.

 

"He probably knew what the outcome was going to be if he didn't get out that night because he was pretty cold and wet." McDougall's cellphone had gone flat and his radio was low on power so he let police know he'd found Cossgrove and set off his officer safety alarm, which sent his location to SAR. The two men then sheltered from the snow under a tree. Cossgrove's hands were shaking, his body trembling. "It was so bloody cold."

 

If McDougall hadn't found him, "I don't think I would have been OK," he said. It took about 90 minutes for SAR to arrived and it was after 1am when Cossgrove walked out of the bush with his rescuers. Cossgrove has applied for Police College and has an assessment next month. He said he would like to join SAR some day.

 

- The Nelson Mail

 

THE COST OF IRRESPONSIBILITY!

 

This hunter found out the hard way that in early spring in the New Zealand outdoors weather can quickly turn back to winter conditions. The search involved the police, local farmers and two search and rescue teams were called in. That’s a lot of man hours, not to mention the inconvenience and the financial costs, all because of a lack of thought. The hunter is lucky to be alive.  He could have lost his life as it started snowing.

Three things that would have made a difference:

 

• Some foresight: Look at a weather forecast – New Zealand weather can change very quickly especially at this time of the year. It can be fatal to presume that it will be the same in several hours time or it will be the same in the next valley. New Zealand can have very localised conditions. Smart hunters think ahead.

 

• Make certain you carry an emergency pack at the very least, including the following. Smart hunters always carry one.

 

• An emergency blanket: Made of aluminium foil, the thermal emergency blanket will retain up to 90% of body heat. Waterproof and windproof, it can be used to offset hypothermic reactions. Size: 140cm x 204cm. Ideal as a waterproof and wind-proof shelter. These blankets make excellent groundsheets or can be placed over cord to make a tent fly. Also come in a sleeping bag style. Packed they are about the size of a cigarette packet – always carry one with you. It may save your life!

 

• A Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). This hunter had one but did not have it with him. Again smart hunters think ahead. Personal locator beacons are cheap insurance and much less costly than having the Police, search and rescue teams involved, not to mention funerals! Can save a lot of grief too. If you have one carry it with you!