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Rescued hunters tell their tale By Buffy Pollock Updated: Nov 09, 2022 07:36 PM A A Rick and Uintah Keever share a moment Wednesday with their dog, Sheba, at their home in Medford. The pair survived two nights and three days in the mountains after getting lost on a hunting trip. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] After three days and two freezing nights in the woods near Prospect, Medford residents Uintah and Rick Keever had begun to accept their likely fate. If they weren’t found soon, they probably weren’t going to survive the night. But they found solace in being together. “If it was going to be the end, at least we were together,” Uintah said. The husband and wife, 72 and 68, were suffering from frostbite in their fingers, toes and feet, on top of various injuries, with Rick Keever severely ill from drinking salmonella-tainted creek water earlier in the ordeal. Dehydrated and unable to move their legs when they were rescued after three days in the elements, Rick bore the brunt of the cold after shielding his wife’s smaller frame — the first night beneath a fallen log and the second in a carved-out root ball beneath a fallen tree. Home this week after more than a week in a rehabilitation facility, the couple soaked up a few stray rays of sunshine Wednesday afternoon as they told their tale. The couple were reported missing the night of Oct. 22, when they didn’t return from a day trip into the dense forest of Huckleberry Mountain, between Prospect and Butte Falls along Mill Creek. Hunters found the couple’s truck the following morning and called it in, realizing something was awry. Central Point residents Kari and Derek Wolf called a nonemergency line to report the truck hadn’t moved overnight despite worsening weather. The Keevers’ heeler mix, Sheba, was inside the truck. Avid hunters who were raised in the outdoors, the Keevers hadn’t planned provisions for an overnight camp because they’d only ventured out for a day of deer hunting. “My husband had shingles and was taking medication for it. Friday night, he’d taken the last of the medication, and we thought, ‘We’ll go for a drive and go for a short hunt.’ We don’t usually hunt above Prospect, but they’ve logged all the places we used to go and posted (no hunting signs) a lot of areas,” Uintah said. Venturing into the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest south of Union Creek, in an area with few skid roads and steep terrain, the couple parked their black Chevy pickup near Huckleberry Mountain Campground, leaving Sheba behind. Uintah recalled, “We went up the skid trail and got up on a landing, and he said, ‘Let’s just make a circle and go back to the truck.’ Well, we made the circle, but we didn’t come back out to the road where we were supposed to. He was really disoriented from the medication he’d been on.” Rick said he’d never been lost before. “Any other time, I would’ve had the presence of mind to turn around and backtrack.” The realization they were lost settled over them before dark, and they figured their best hope was to travel downriver to find help. “The first night we slept underneath a big log. It was about 3 feet across and had a gap between it and the ground. We were sopping wet from going through the vine maple and tall grass,” Uintah said. Rick dug a hole under a log to create a dry area, where they hunkered down, rifles atop their sleeping area and sharing body heat to survive as temperatures dipped to 22 degrees. “He tucked me inside his coat to try and protect me from the cold, and he turned his back toward the rain and the cold. He took the brunt of it,” she said. “I had my face down in my shirt and hood over my head, breathing hot air to try and warm my face.” Rick recalled sitting quietly as a bear wandered toward the couple’s resting spot, tearing bark from nearby logs to search for grubs. “I’d feel rain hitting me, and I’d roll over and look up, and I saw stars. I knew, ‘Oh, man, it’s about to get cold!’” said Rick. “I knew we could get through the second night, no problem. The third night, I knew at that point it was gonna be Game Over.” The second day, the couple walked several miles looking for their truck. Falling into the creek — twice for him and once for her — worsened their exposure. “He picked up salmonella from the water in the creek and got dry heaves. We were both on our hands and knees trying to climb up this mountain, and then he lost his grip and his foot slipped, so he went down about 50-60 feet down the hill, sliding and rolling,” she added. “He messed up his hip and knee and twisted his ankle. I was about three-quarters of the way up the hill, but I panicked and slipped down after him.” Early on, the couple had fired the telltale “three shots,” signaling SOS to other hunters. On the second day, one of Rick’s falls found the barrel of his gun jammed with mud. Lacking the ability to fire more rescue shots, the couple used gunpowder to try and start a warming fire. Back home, family and friends had joined in the search. Community members were sharing posts about the missing couple, and the truck and dog had been identified, with search and rescue setting up base camp nearby. On the second night, Uintah stacked large pieces of bark to create a barrier and Rick dug a hole, layering rocks on which to keep the couple dry. A touch of irony: Uintah said the couple quit smoking in February. If they hadn’t quit, they’d have had lighters, she said. Heading into their third day without water, food or fire, a third night seemed like a death sentence. “We had settled down by a tree, and I had Rick’s head in my lap. We just couldn’t go any farther. We dad no water at that point. I shot the last three rounds out of my gun, and we got no response. It just felt like nobody had any idea where we were at that point,” she said. “We just said, ‘OK, Lord, your will be done.’ I just sat there and held Rick’s head in my lap. He was down on his back and couldn’t get up. I was still yelling for help, and he was using the empty shotgun shell to whistle … and we finally heard this voice go, ‘Where are you?’” Unable to walk for the past few hours, Uintah summoned the strength to walk a short distance and wave her arms, helping guide rescuers to their location. When they were found shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, their body temperatures were in the upper 80s, and they were unable to speak or stand. Rescuers carried them out of the forest. Their recovery could take up to six months, but they’re happy to have lived to tell their tale. Two sheriff’s deputies, two search-and-rescue volunteers and a dog found the couple and alerted other searchers, which included several family members. Lena Varner, one of the couple’s daughters, said the whirlwind of events was still difficult to process but that a beacon of hope during the ordeal was the professionalism and devotion of search crews. “Search-and-rescue people … they are ALL IN. It was absolutely amazing. We went up there, and we weren’t sure whether we were going to be a burden or not. We just knew they were getting down to their last minutes, no matter what, especially with the snow,” she said. “We couldn’t just sit at home and not be part of it. We knew we wanted to be safe too, and not emotional, so we just said, ‘We’re here if we can help, and we can stay out of the way if not.’” She added, “SAR had their base camp, and they were amazing to us all. They gave us GPS trackers, put us in two different search groups … we took Sheba in case she could help find Rick.” Search-and-rescue coordinator Sgt. Shawn Richards said SAR crews always prepare for various outcomes, including rescue versus recovery, but search crews never give up hope. “It is hard to put into words the thankfulness we experienced when the couple was located alive. Everything we do is for that moment. That moment is also the starting point of our next mission, treat them and get them out. We are just so thankful they were located, extricated and recovering with their family,” Richards said. “We always give the subjects we are looking for the benefit of the doubt that they are fighting to survive as hard as we are searching for them. They are alive until we know different.” A full three days since they noticed the black truck, Kari Wolf, her husband, Derek, and father-in-law David were keeping tabs on search efforts, circulating photos of the couple on social media. “We didn’t sleep much on Sunday night because we knew they hadn’t been found yet. Super thankful for all the SAR staff and volunteers who went out to look. We felt so invested in it because we knew that could very well be any of us or someone we know,” Wolf said. “The woods are treacherous and unforgiving. If something seems not right, call it in. Better to be safe than sorry.” Getting some needed rest and spending time with their pup this week, the couple are savoring the little things a bit more since they nearly froze to death. “When we were in the mountains lost, it was like, you’d see the sun come out behind a couple of clouds, and you’d hurry to get over to where the sun was so you could soak up some warmth,” Uintah said. “You’d get to where it was, and it’d go back behind the clouds. … The sun sure feels good now.” Both are eager to get back to hunting, but family members have put the kibosh on their wandering for a while. “When we were in the hospital, I said, ‘Boy, as soon as we get out of here, elk hunting starts on the (November) fourth!’ And Lena said, ‘You two are not going anywhere!’” Uintah said with a laugh. “We’ve been told no way, at least for this season. Our grandson has got our guns, and he says he’s keeping them until after elk season.” In a moment of seriousness, the husband and wife reflected on the memories they could have missed out on. Ever the experienced hunters, they know it’s possible for anyone to run into trouble. “I know we were really close to the end. We knew that if we had to spend another night up there, we wouldn’t be there in the morning,” Uintah said. “I just thank the Lord we’re here and that we got to find out how many people prayed for us and helped look for us. We’re just so grateful for all the people who hoped and prayed we would make it out alive.” Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal. Rescuers are shown carrying Rick and Uintah Keever to a waiting ambulance in the forest near Huckleberry Mountain. [Courtesy photo]