(WWJ) -- A West Michigan man is recovering after falling from a tree stand in a remote part of Mason County and being rescued nearly 11 hours later, thanks to a Department of Natural Resources conservation officer.
Lake County 911 dispatchers received an emergency call around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday from a man who said he had fallen and broken his back, according to the DNR.
The call dropped after a short time and computer systems at the dispatch center were unable to track the location of the caller.
Lake County Sheriff’s deputies promptly began trying to determine whom the phone number was registered to.
DNR officer Josiah Killingbeck was on patrol Tuesday night when he heard the distress call from Lake County Dispatch personnel. He consulted other officers and soon learned the phone number belonged to a 75-year-old man from Hudsonville, a town about 15 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.
The man’s son told police his father had gone to the Whiskey Creek area, southeast of Ludington, with plans to get tree stands ready for the upcoming deer hunting season. The son said his dad’s truck should be parked somewhere along the side of the road.
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Killingbeck went to the location and discovered tire tracks on a two-track road heading east. He followed the tracks to a nearby unmarked road, where he found the man’s red GMC pick-up truck around 9:40 p.m.
Killingbeck searched the remote location near the truck, though the GPS system in his truck was not providing road names and he did not have cell phone service.
“I had Report All Poaching dispatch take the GPS coordinates from my radio and give them to Mason Dispatch to assist in getting other resources into the area,” Killingbeck said.
Killingbeck soon found a faint walking path going northbound and saw a set of footprints on a dirt bike trail. Killingbeck had been told the man should be off the west side of the trail, so he began calling out for the man through the woods.
He heard nothing for several minutes, but when he got within about 50 yards of the man’s location, he began to hear his voice calling out weakly.
The DNR says at 9:53 p.m. -- nearly 11 hours after the man fell -- Killingbeck found him at the base of a large oak tree, lying on his right side, with the tree stand on the ground, just above his head.
The man had told Killingbeck he was about 30 feet above the ground attempting to get the tree stand out of the oak, when he grabbed a dead branch and fell. He told Killingbeck he could not call for help sooner because he did not have cell phone service.
More emergency support began to arrive in the area. A Michigan State Police trooper helped direct personnel to the place where Killingbeck was attending to the man, the DNR said.
An initial inspection found no obvious fractures or open tissue injuries, but at 11:30 p.m., the man was carried out of the woods on a backboard, complaining of significant pain in his lower back, buttocks and right shoulder, leg and knee. He was airlifted to a trauma center for treatment of his injuries.
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Lt. Joe Molnar of the DNR Law Enforcement Division said it was smart of the man, whose name has not been disclosed, to tell his son where he was going that day.
“Whether you are hunting, hiking or trail riding you should always share your plans with a family member or friend,” Molnar said, per a press release. “In the plan, you should list where you are going to be and when you expect to return. You should also include any alternate locations you may be at, in case weather or other conditions change your plans. Sharing this information could be the difference between life and death if you are injured and cannot call for help.”
As the fall hunting seasons approach, more people will be heading to the woods and the DNR is offering some helpful safety information.
Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned state peace officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect residents by providing general law enforcement duties and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve.
Learn more about Michigan conservation officers at Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.