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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Hunting Season Opens With Death Elk Hunter Killed In Rollover; In Separate Incident, Hunter Safe After Becoming Lost

Hunting season is only two days old and already one hunter is dead and another has been lost in the woods.

Alan Inman, 45, of Fall City, Wash., died Thursday when his all-terrain vehicle rolled on top of him as he was driving through the woods to an elk he had killed.

Also in Shoshone County, rescue workers from Idaho and Montana spent Thursday night and Friday morning searching for a Coeur d’Alene man lost in the woods while hunting elk.

After spending a cold night without a fire or coat, Milton Petrousek, 74, was able to make his way out Friday morning.

Sheriff’s officials and rescue workers are bracing for the onslaught of missing people and injuries as the fall hunting season gets under way.

With about 25,000 hunters tracking down big game in North Idaho each year, rescuers have plenty of experience with the kind of problems that arise.

In 1994, two hunters died in North Idaho when other hunters mistook them for elk.

Kootenai County Search and Rescue conducted nine searches for lost hunters last year and helped Bonner County with a tenth search.

“It just kind of goes with the territory when you have a lot of people out in the woods,” said Shoshone County Sheriff Dan Schierman.

Alan Inman and his father Walter Inman had been hunting on Lemonaid Peak, 13 miles north of Calder, when they shot an elk Thursday. Alan Inman headed back to camp for equipment to haul the elk out of the woods, Schierman said.

He was riding a 7-foot-long all-terrain vehicle - a homemade snowcat-like machine with metal tracks - back to the kill site. He was driving across a steep hill when he was thrown off and the machine rolled over him, Schierman said.

Other hunters found his body at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Inman died from severe wounds to his chest, Schierman said.

Petrousek and his friend Kenneth Solberg, of Mullan, spent Thursday hunting for elk on the Montana/Idaho divide. Although they had studied a map, neither one was familiar with the area, Solberg said.

Petrousek got tired and decided to head back to the truck while Solberg continued to hunt for a while. But when Solberg returned to the vehicle at about 2 p.m. he could not find his friend. He searched until 7:30 p.m. without any luck.

Knowing his friend did not have his coat, food or anything to start fire with, Solberg went for help. Shoshone County and Mineral County, Montana, search and rescue workers along with the U.S. Forest Service hunted for the man Thursday night and Friday morning.

Worried about cougars, the cold and and how upset his wife would be, Milton Petrousek hunkered down for the night after making a shelter for himself out of needles and tree branches, his wife said.

“He was scared but he didn’t panic, and that’s where you can get in trouble,” Helen Petrousek said Friday as her husband caught up on the sleep he missed.

The next morning he found someone to give him a ride out.

“Anytime you get 25,000 people wandering out in the woods a few of them are going to get turned around,” said Jim Hayden, regional wildlife manager for the Idaho State Fish and Game.

But Helen Petrousek has had enough of her husband hunting.

“He’s not going again,” she said with a laugh. “And I don’t think he wants to.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Hunting tips Emergency workers offered the following tips to keep from getting lost in the woods and how to survive if you do. Make sure someone knows where you will be hunting. Leave a map with your general location circled. Keep warm clothing with you. Keep a compass and topographical map of the area. Carry a flashlight. Pack a space blanket. Carry a lighter, matches and kindling to get a fire started. Large plastic garbage sacks pack small and can easily be converted into a rain poncho or small lean to. Carry at least a small amount of food with you at all times.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Hunting tips Emergency workers offered the following tips to keep from getting lost in the woods and how to survive if you do. Make sure someone knows where you will be hunting. Leave a map with your general location circled. Keep warm clothing with you. Keep a compass and topographical map of the area. Carry a flashlight. Pack a space blanket. Carry a lighter, matches and kindling to get a fire started. Large plastic garbage sacks pack small and can easily be converted into a rain poncho or small lean to. Carry at least a small amount of food with you at all times.