Visitor safety specialists from Banff National Park were called south of the border last week to assist in recovering a body that is part of an FBI investigation.
Waterton National Park specialists received the call first from Glacier National Park in Montana last Friday (July 12), however, did not have anyone available to assist and the request for assistance was forwarded to Banff.
Visitor safety specialist Lisa Paulson responded along with Steve Holeczi and Alpine Helicopters pilot Perry Hirsch.
Paulson explained Glacier Park’s technical rescuers were trying to retrieve the body from a slot canyon on the west side of Logan Pass located below The Loop area of Going-to-the-Sun Road, but felt they required a long line to be flown in by helicopter to do so.
“It was just too difficult to do a technical raise given the type of terrain,” she said. “Their pilot wasn’t comfortable doing that, so they basically called Parks Canada to give them assistance.”
Paulson said Hirsch used a 200-feet line while Holeczi hiked into the canyon and prepared the body to be slung out. Jon Stuart-Smith from Waterton assisted with staging, while Paulson was incident commander.
The body was that of Cody Lee Johnson, who was last seen the Sunday before. His death is being treated as suspicious and the FBI assisted with the recovery operation along with the Kalispell Police Department and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
It was the second time in a week that Parks personnel and Hirsch flew to the American national park to assist with a recovery.
Last Tuesday (July 9), Parks was called to assist in the recovery of the body of a 21-year-old man who died after falling 500 metres off a ridge while hiking on Apikuni Mountain.
Banff visitor safety specialist Aaron Beardmore explained that Glacier in Montana has an agreement with Waterton for Parks Canada to provide long line capabilities when required.
However, Waterton did not have a helicopter or pilot available at the time and Hirsch responded. He picked up Parks specialists Stewuart-Smith and Steve Blagbrough from Waterton.
“They flew up and assessed the situation and where the person was was up against a very steep cliff, so they had to use what is called a super long line,” Beardmore said, adding a super long line is 450 feet long below the helicopter. “That length of line takes an incredible amount of skill and precision – we are very fortunate to have such skilled pilots to do that kind of work because it is very technical.”
Stuart-Smith was inserted first and scrambled to where the body was located and attached the long line when it came in.
It was a busy day for Hirsch, who, on his way back to the Bow Valley, was called in to assist in the rescue of a 26-year-old man who fell 15 metres in the cliffs above Lake Agnes between Mount Niblock and Mount White.
“As Perry was coming back, he landed for more fuel and took the Banff crew,” Beardmore said.
