Photo By John Turner | Capt. Jaani Barclay, 40th Helicopter Squadron pilot, Senior Airman Corbin Dietrich, 40...... read more read more
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MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. – On the night of August 25-26, 2025, an MH-139A Grey Wolf, the Air Force’s newest helicopter, added a significant chapter to the 40th Helicopter Squadron’s operational history when they located and rendered aid to a lost hiker.
The crew, consisting of Capt. Jacques Soto (pilot), Capt. Jaani Barclay (co-pilot), Staff Sgt. Chase Rose and Senior Airman Corbin Dietrich (flight engineers), and Maj. Collin Urbanowicz (341st Operational Medical Squadron aeromedical physician assistant) dedicated 8.2 hours over three sorties to locating and stabilizing a stranded hiker.
“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 urgency of the mission began when the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office requested Air Force support on Monday, Aug. 25 in an ongoing multi-agency search for a 73-year-old hiker last seen on Aug. 21. The 40 HS received the notification through the Air Force Rescue Center at 3:30 p.m., initiating a rapid response.
Because of the urgent call, the crew was reassigned from a scheduled night training mission and the aircraft was quickly reconfigured for the Search and Rescue. The squadron came together with a collaborative spirit and helped the crew ready their helicopter and SAR gear. The hoist was tested, and rescue equipment, including a Stokes litter, medical kits and survival bags were loaded on board.
Under the callsign Air Force Rescue 012, the crew departed Malmstrom at 5:35 p.m. and arrived at the Stillwater Plateau search area above Nye, Mont., at approximately 6:50 p.m. Upon arrival, the crew picked up the sheriff and circled the vicinity for an overview of the search area, gaining critical situational awareness.
The Beartooth Range presents a challenging landscape of peaks, glacier lakes, and canyons. This terrain makes ground searches difficult, especially at night, compounding the urgency of finding the missing hiker.
Previous efforts, including a coordinated grid search by a civilian helicopter and a Montana National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk from Billings, Mont., found no sign of the hiker, adding to the concern. With these challenges in mind, the crew formulated their strategy.
"Our assignment was to drop [the sheriff] off, come back without him at night, and use our night vision and FLIR imagery to survey what he had pointed out,” Capt. Soto said.
The crew's initial task was a preliminary search to identify major features at night, providing data for a second 40 HS Grey Wolf scheduled to arrive in the morning. This information would facilitate more effective ground support. Recognizing the importance of time, helicopters could potentially transport ground teams, saving them a lengthy overland journey.
After refueling at Big Timber, Mont. and calibrating their night vision goggles, Rescue 012 resumed the search on a moonless night, facing limited visibility.
As they flew the crew discussed their strategy, noting the last known campsite's location at 9,000 feet near glacier lakes. The crew and flight medic reasoned that a weakened hiker might follow the terrain in search of water. Adding his expertise of the area, Staff Sgt. Rose suggested searching a specific creek valley.
“We decided to take a lower approach and backtrack the creek valley that was kind of off to the right of the main search area,” Maj. Urbanowicz said. “We went all the way back up in there, and as we were about to turn left and back to that terminus, the glacier lake, we saw a light flashing.”
That flicker of light proved to be pivotal to the mission. Capt. Barclay spotted the artificial light source as the aircraft turned toward the lakes. Soto followed up on the importance of this clue.
“We had been briefed that no-one else was on the mountain, that it was actually closed,” Soto said. “So, we pursued it.”
The helicopter flew down a canyon framed by 11,000-foot mountains. Using their forward-looking infrared camera, the crew identified a man waving his arms, increasing the likelihood that they had found the missing hiker.
“We were able to identify it was a person standing there waving, at about four-and-a-half miles out almost, with our camera,” Rose said.
Despite the distance, the crew knew they had to act.
“We weren’t sure it was him, but this person needs help,” Soto said. “Even if it isn’t the lost hiker, it’s someone out here in the middle of nowhere who needs help.”
The individual was signaling from a slope in a dead-end canyon, surrounded by 1,000-foot rock walls. The marshy site on the ground was unsuitable for landing.
“It’s super dark out here,” Urbanowicz said. “The area is kind of tight. Very steep mountains, very tall trees in the area. And with helos, you have to shoot a bunch of approaches to determine the best way to enter in and consider a landing versus a hover.”
Besides the terrain, the helicopter also had excess fuel for the altitude, complicating the landing situation. To work around this obstacle, precise execution was critical.
After circling, Rescue 012 made a low altitude approach. However, a second attempt to hover 50 feet above the trees was disrupted by winds, threatening the operation.
“The aircraft was descending at hundreds of feet per minute, and we couldn’t get it stabilized,” Soto said. “We took the option to fly away. Fly the escape.”
Night vision was also problematic due to low ambient light and the man's flashlight, affecting the crew's vision.
On the third approach, Soto and Barclay controlled the aircraft in a 70-foot hover. Rose lowered Urbanowicz via hoist.
Senior Airman Dietrich monitored for deviations, struggling with depth perception in the darkness, while keeping the helicopter stable.
Urbanowicz landed and assessed the man.
“He was standing,” Urbanowicz said. “You could tell he wasn’t injured or anything. Still mentally with us.”
With an assessment completed, the man able to walk but disoriented and dehydrated, the plan was to lower the Stokes litter, beginning the next stage of the operation.
Rescue 012 ascended to reduce rotor wash.
The aircraft became less stable. Soto manually controlled against increasing crosswinds.
The Stokes litter swung, risking entanglement with trees, forcing a change of plans.
As Urbanowicz prepared to disconnect the litter, Rose retracted it, showing quick thinking.
The aircraft reached its Bingo fuel state.
The crew radioed Urbanowicz, explaining the need to refuel, leaving him on the ground with the hiker.
“They had to peel off,” Urbanowicz said. “I’m down there with him (the patient) and like, ‘Well, change of plans! We’re going to be here a bit longer.’”
Urbanowicz provided medical care, warmth, fluids, and snacks, confirming the man was the missing hiker, and stabilizing him for the night.
It was now past midnight.
Rescue 012 landed at Big Timber and discussed options.
A hoist extraction was deemed imprudent in the conditions and Urbanowicz was unreachable by hoist due to the deteriorating weather above the site. Rescue 012 returned to check on him from a safe altitude, dropping additional supplies, ensuring their team member was protected.
A National Guard UH-60 from Helena, Mont., extracted Urbanowicz and the hiker at daybreak and transported them to Columbus, Mont., bringing the mission to a close.
Dietrich credited the mission’s success to training and experience.
“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 felt proud to help someone in the same mountains where friends had gone missing, adding: “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.”
The 40th Helicopter Squadron can conduct Search and Rescue operations upon formal request from civil authorities on a non-interference basis with its primary mission. This mission demonstrated the ability of the men and women of the 40 HS to utilize the new MH-139A Grey Wolf and come together with State and National Guard partners to save a life.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.22.2025 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 548992 |
| Location: | GREAT FALLS, MONTANA, US |
| Web Views: | 562 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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