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SAR Op No. 9 photo-journal:
By
Michael Neiger
Marquette, Michigan
© Copyright 2008
Duration & date: |
2-days; September 15-16, 2008
|
Agency
assisted:
_____________________ |
|
Township
& County: |
Whitefish Township, Chippewa County
|
Nearest place-name: |
Paradise, Michigan
|
General location: |
Tahquamenon
Falls State Park in the eastern Upper Peninsula |
Trail: |
|
Victim:
|
|
Joseph Robert Clewley
White male; age 73; 5'-10"; 150 lbs |
Case summary: |
Joe
Clewley and his dog Chip went missing on July 13, 2008. His van
was found parked at the North Country Trail (NCT) trailhead along
the Tahqua Trail in the eastern reaches of Tahquamenon Falls State
Park. Joe owned a log cabin in the area and enjoyed hiking off-trail
in the park. |
SAR op mission: |
Recon east Camp 10 Lakes Area;
view SAR op plan
|
MiBSAR
team members: |
|
Partner
SAR teams & assets: |
None
|
SAR
op results: |
Joe Clewley
was not located |
Additional resources: |
Learn more
about this investigation
View official, Sheriff's Office-provided Web
site for victim
View MiBSAR-provided Web
site and Internet
blog for victim
|
With the rain subsiding,
I departed Marquette for Paradise. When I arrived at the Tahqua Trail,
the sun was burning through the overcast.
An overview of the
Joe Clewley search area in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan,
southwest of Paradise, in the Tahquamenon Falls State Park. (Graphic
by Michael Neiger)
At the North Country Trail
(NCT) Trailhead, I shouldered my ruck, hoping I would not run into any
lost hikers as I did a couple SAR ops back. I had met a young, college-aged
couple who inquired where the Lower Tahquamenon Falls was..."Eight
or nine miles back down the trail," I told them. Upon hearing this,
the young lady crumpled to the ground, bug-bitten, dehydrated, exhausted,
and frustrated.
Fall is around the
corner in Joe's Country. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery.
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
I ended up giving them a
ride to the Rivermouth Campsite, where I turned them over to the Rangers
for disposition. Turns out, they thought they were on a loop hike that
would eventually lead them back to their campsite at the Lower Falls.
Chris Ozminski came upon a similar situation on his last SAR op.
From the trailhead, I headed
northwest along the NCT, combing the first couple miles of the trail
for any clues to Joe's whereabouts. Once I'd ascended switchback ridge,
I peeled off to the north and began a careful search of the ridgelines
and hollows east of the chain of lakes known as the Camp 10 Lakes.
The bush near switchback
ridge, southeast of the chain of lakes known as the Camp 10 Chain
of Lakes. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael
Neiger)
An expansive marsh
near the southeast corner of the Camp 10 Chain of Lakes area. Click
on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
These fern-covered, pine-tree-studded
ridges overlooking lakes, marshes, and hollows must have been one of
Joe's favorite haunts as they drew me big time too.
Remnants of an old
railroad grade where it crossed a wetland area situated in the southeastern
corner of Lake 716 in the Camp 10 Chain of Lakes. Click on photo for
high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Old, weathered, eastern
white pine stumps line a long, narrow ridge and railroad grade separating
Lakes 708 and 716 in the Camp 10 Chain of Lakes. Click on photo for
high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
As the sun began to set,
I established a bivouac on a point projecting out into Lake 716 from
its eastern shore. As I emerged from the bush, a huge bald eagle flew
from its perch near the north end of the lake.
The view from the
irregular, eastern shoreline of Lake 716 in the Camp 10 Lakes area.
Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Later, sandhill cranes could
be heard in the distance.
A solitary eastern
white pine stands watch over Lake 716 in the Camp 10 Chain of Lakes.
Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Before climbing in my bivy
sack for the night, I snapped a few pictures of the setting sun.
Sunset over Lake
716 in the Camp 10 Chain of Lakes. Click on photo for high-resolution
imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
I awoke to light rain on
my tarpand a serious, lay-on-the-ground or crawl-on-all-fours
gut ache. Apparently, my body had not fully rid itself of last week's
SAR-Op-shortening nasty bug.
A recently-emerged
mushroom. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael
Neiger)
Two hours later, weak and
tired, I struggled to bushwhack back to the NCT and make my way the
two-plus miles to my vehicle, disappointed to have to once again cut
short a SAR op for Joe.
Parting shots....Click
on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Hopefully, I'll have put
this thing behind me by next week so I can return and get three days
of serious recon in.
1:24,000
USGS quad showing areas searched (in red) by the Michigan Backcountry
Search and Rescue Team during Clewley SAR Op No. 9, September 15-16,
2008. (Base quad with North Country Trail [NCT] plot and UTM grid
overlay courtesy of Chuck McCready's No
Boundaries Maps and Graphics, Inc., of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan,
an official sponsor of the
Michigan Backcountry SAR Team. Annotations by Michael Neiger)
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In God's wilderness
lies the hope of the world,
the great, fresh, unblighted,
unredeemed wilderness.
John Muir, 1838-1914
Alaska Wilderness, 1890
If
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thank a Teacher;
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thank a Veteran.
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Copyright notice
Content Copyright © 1984 --
2009-09-16
by Michael A. Neiger
All rights reserved
No part of this Web page or this Web site protected by copyright
law may be reproduced, transmitted, or used in any form--including
graphic, electronic, Web, mechanical or other form--or by any
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Web site URL:
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