Hunter describes 30-hour ordeal in woods

Despite their hunger, exhaustion and constant exposure to the bitter cold, Skyler Pierson never gave up hope that he would make it out of the woods with his brother and cousin.

“I just prayed that God would let the searchers know where to find us,” said the 16-year-old, who was among three hunters who were found Friday night after they went missing for more than a day.

The trio from Moscow, Idaho, had planned to spend less than half an hour tracking down a deer that Pierson had shot in the gut Thursday afternoon near Moose Creek Reservoir, about 36 miles east of Moscow. But the deer wandered for more than three miles, forcing the hunters to go in circles and lose their way. They ended up spending more than 30 hours without food and trying to keep warm in subfreezing temperatures.

“We had all the stuff we needed in the truck,” Skyler said from his home Saturday. “We thought it would take just 15 or 20 minutes, but we got so turned around.”

Skyler, his 13-year-old brother, Callen Pierson, and 26-year-old cousin, Dustin Pierson, found the deer close to a road that they thought might connect to the one where they had parked their pickup. They walked along the road with the deer carcass for about four or five miles when they realized they went the wrong way, said Skyler. They backtracked and got lost, forcing them to abandon their deer.

Although the brothers wore several layers of clothing – jeans, insulated pants, T-shirts, flannel shirts, rubber boots, wool socks and stocking hats – their cousin had on only a T-shirt, jeans and a sweatshirt, according to Skyler.

The snow was 2 to 3 feet deep in places, so to keep warm at night, the trio made a shelter by stacking branches around four trees to block the wind. They were so cold that their hands became swollen and numb – they couldn’t even feel the cuts and scrapes they suffered as they quickly assembled their shelter. They huddled together, rotating from time to time so that each person could stay warm by sitting in between the two others.

Meanwhile in Moscow, Kate Pierson became worried when her sons and their cousin didn’t come home Thursday night. She called authorities at about 8:30 p.m.

“It was the worst feeling that I could ever imagine or describe,” she said Saturday. “It was very scary.”

Searchers found their Toyota Tacoma about 3:30 p.m. Friday. They eventually located the missing hunters by following their tracks from the truck.

After spending Thursday night in the shelter, the lost hunters started walking again at about 7 a.m. By early Friday afternoon, they made another shelter, said Skyler, a junior at Moscow High School.

The three of them had plenty of experience in the woods, he said, and had learned a lot from their grandfather and uncle, who had served as members of search-and-rescue teams in the past. But they became worried when Dustin Pierson started convulsing and exhibiting signs of hypothermia, he said. “We were all so soaked and cold,” Skyler said. “We were praying that the search-and-rescue people would find us.”

Shortly after 8 p.m., the trio was relieved to hear a voice yelling, “Dusty!”

“We gave them the most excited holler back,” Skyler said.

All three were able to walk to the snowmobiles and were soon wrapped in coats and blankets before they were taken by ambulance to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow for treatment of hypothermia and dehydration. Dustin Pierson had frostbite on his feet, according to Kate Pierson. “He was blazing the trail for the boys,” she explained.

The hunters were able to go home and sleep in their own beds Friday night. “I’m happy to be here and be with my family,” said Skyler. He and his brother, a freshman at Moscow Junior High, still feel a little sore, he said.

“It’s like a miracle,” said Kate Pierson. “There are so many people I need to thank. I am so immensely grateful.”

An uncle will return to the spot where they got lost to look for the deer they left behind, according to Skyler.

The brothers plan to go hunting again next season.