(UPDATE, MAY 9) At about 11 p.m. on Monday, May 8, 2023, a Two Bear Air helicopter located 19-year-old Matthew Read, who was reported missing on Sunday, May 7, in Glacier National Park.
Read reportedly hiked the Huckleberry Lookout trail on Friday and reached the first saddle where he encountered a snowfield covering the trail. He slipped into an unnamed drainage on the east side of Huckleberry Mountain. He descended into chest-deep snow, losing his phone, water bottle, and shoes. Upon determining that he could not make it back up to the trail, he started working his way down the drainage.
A news release from Glacier National Park says that Two Bear Air picked up a thermal heat signature in heavily-forested terrain.
Rescue personnel lowered a rescuer down to Read’s location and found him "somewhat responsive."
Read was extricated via a 175-foot hoist, flown out of the park, and transferred to Evergreen Ambulance. He is said to be in stable condition.
(1st REPORT, MAY 8) Crews are searching for a 19-year-old Matthew David Read of Michigan in Glacier National Park; he was reported missing on Friday.
Read's vehicle was found at the trailhead of Huckleberry Trail on Sunday, May 7, 2023. He was last heard from on Friday afternoon and was thought to have started his hike around noon that day.
Rangers were alerted on Sunday that he was overdue.
Read has short brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5’11” tall and weighs about 210 pounds. He may be wearing a gray and black Columbia rain jacket with either blue and yellow or black and red shoes.
"Rangers conducted a hasty search Sunday afternoon," a news release states. An expanded group of about 30 people began searching on Monday morning.
Park rangers, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office along with county search dogs are involved in the search effort. Two Bear Air flew its helicopter on Sunday night and will take to the air again when the weather cooperates, the release states.
Park officials say the conditions on the upper part of Huckleberry Trail are winter-like with snow over the trail at higher altitudes.
Due to the ongoing search, Huckleberry Trail is closed.
Anyone who has information, or was in the area and saw a person fitting the above description, is asked to call the Glacier National Parl tip line at 406-888-7077.
TRENDING
- Crowned: Miss Montana USA, Miss Teen Montana USA
- Man's body found in downtown Great Falls
- Suspect jailed after shots fired in Belt
- Who's performing at the Montana State Fair?
- Recent Obituaries
FOLLOW KRTV: Instagram | TikTok | Twitter
