Hazardous Driving Drivers Slide Around On Slick Streets

The first significant snow of the season hampered searchers scouring the mountains for a trio of lost hunters and also sent dozens of North Idaho motorists into ditches Monday.

Sheriff’s deputies from three counties spent the day tramping through the mountains northeast of Coeur d’Alene, trying to track down two men and a woman who never returned from a Saturday hunting trip.

The hunters - Robert M. Curtis, 26, of Athol, Idaho; and Coeur d’Alene residents Kevin Folk, 23, and Brandee L. Willette, 19 - had left for the Crooked Ridge area near Hamilton Mountain about 3 a.m. Saturday.

Relatives called sheriff’s deputies Sunday evening when the group had failed to return.

Because authorities aren’t sure exactly where the group had planned to hunt, searchers were called from Kootenai, Bonner and Shoshone counties. The Crooked Ridge area straddles all three county borders.

The hunters were believed to be traveling in a black 1987 Ford Ranger. It’s not known whether they had camping equipment with them or if they were prepared for Monday’s snowfall.

Law enforcement officials throughout the region said many drivers appeared ill-prepared for the weather.

By late afternoon, Coeur d’Alene police officials had reported 25 accidents - none serious - caused by vehicles sliding on icy roads. City police typically respond to fewer than four accidents a day, police Lt. Greg Surplus said.

“And it’s not over,” Surplus said at about 4 p.m. “We still have the evening rush.”

The story was repeated throughout the region.

Idaho State Police reported more than a dozen accidents Monday, including an injury collision in Garwood and one in Smelterville.

Post Falls police, meanwhile, dealt with eight accidents before supper time. Two of the accidents were rollovers. One of them, at Poleline and Syringa roads, caused minor injuries.

The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Department also responded to more than a half-dozen accidents, all related to slick roads and the first-of-the-season snow, but none caused serious injuries.

The Latah County Sheriff’s Department was called to at least five accidents before dark, prompting a plea for caution.

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This sidebar appeared with the story: FORECAST The forecast for the rest of the week calls for a return to stable weather conditions with low clouds, fog and near-normal temperatures. Highs will be just above freezing, and lows will be in the 20s.