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SAR Op No. 14 photo-journal:
By
Michael Neiger
Marquette, Michigan
© Copyright 2008
Duration & date: |
3-days; October 22-24, 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 upper Lynch Creek Watershed;
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
|
Day 1 was spent working the marsh-like
fingers projecting westward from the Lynch Creek Grade Pond.
A panoramic view of
the Lynch Creek Grade Pond, as viewed from the peninsula jutting out
from its western limit. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery.
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
It was very cold all day, so
much so that many ponds remained iced-over throughout the day.
The surface of a small
pond is still frozen at 5:30 p.m. Click on photo for high-resolution
imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Sunset over the Lynch
Creek Grade Pond. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo
by Michael Neiger)
Thanks to a thicker sleeping
bag, an additional layer of insulating clothing, and felt-lined winter
boots, I was able to stay warm in Joe's Country, unlike my last trip,
where I was very cold.
Sunrise over the Lynch
Creek Grade Pond. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo
by Michael Neiger)
Tarp bivouac site on
the Lynch Creek Grade Pond. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery.
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
The view from under the
tarp. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael
Neiger)
After a hot breakfast of granola,
blueberries, and hot chocolate, I shouldered my ruck and set off to
recon the northern reaches of the Lynch Creek Headwaters Swamp for a
route that Joe may have used.
An old, dried-up, frost-laden
beaver flooding along the western limit of the Lynch Creek Headwaters
Swamp. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael
Neiger)
A birch outgrows its
stump-turned-pot container. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery.
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
A panoramic view of the
Lynch Creek Grade Pond, as viewed from the Grade at its northeastern
corner. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael
Neiger)
After some careful sign-cutting,
I picked up the remains of a trail--several intermittent old ax blazes
that had been painted red many, many years ago--that marked a totally-overgrown
route leading eastward across the swamp.
After two to three hundred meters
of nasty bushwhacking, I picked up the western end of a relatively-brushed-out
single track trail that lead eastward to the bank of Cheney Creek.
An old ax blaze painted
red marks a long-abandoned route across the northern limit of the
Lynch Creek Headwaters Swamp. Click on photo for high-resolution imagery.
(Photo by Michael Neiger)
Once at the west bank of Cheney
Creek, I headed south to look for another route leading back into the
heart of the massive Lynch Creek Headwaters Swamp.
After consulting the detailed
satellite images that my partner--Chris Ozminski (NightBlazer) of Frankenmuth,
Michigan--had painstakingly assembled a few weeks earlier, I was able
to locate another route that a bushman like Joe would certainly have
known about, and perhaps used from time to time. This trail traced the
length of a very low, pine-studded ridge that ended near the middle
of the open marsh in the swamp.
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)
Two hundred meters of hummock
hopping put me in the opposite treeline, from which I bushwhacked southwest
to the powerline. From here, I picked up an old logging-era railroad
grade that Chris has spotted on the satellite photos and reconned earlier.
Just as he said, its entire length served as a game trail, much of which
was wide open and easy walking. While hidden from the casual visitor,
Joe would certainly have known of this route too.
After hiking this old grade to
its terminus near the Lynch Creek Headwaters Swamp, I rigged my tarp
for another cold bivouac in Joe's Country.
When I awoke in the morning,
my tarp was heavily laden with ice and frost.
The view from my tarp
bivouac along the southern edge of the Lynch Creek Headwaters Pond.
Click on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Winter seems to have
arrived in Joe's Country. This snowball was fashioned from some of
the frost and ice that was scraped from my tarp in the morning. Click
on photo for high-resolution imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
Breakfast down and my ruck packed,
I struck out northward across the Lynch Creek Headwaters Swamp. Along
the way, I worked numerous game trails. Deep in a tangled section of
cedar swamp, I happened across a scatter of large bones that appeared
to have been from a moose.
A scatter of moose bones--including
the business-end of a hoof (rightmost photo)--found deep in the Lynch
Creek Headwaters Swamp. Scatter of bones assembled for photographic
purposes; rule is 24 inches in length. Click on photo for high-resolution
imagery. (Photo by Michael Neiger)
After I emerged from the swamp
along its western limit, I headed southward, tracing a route along it
western edge for any sign of Joe. Finding none, I eventually headed
home to prepare for the next SAR Op, which was scheduled for the first
weekend in November.
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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
you've been able to read this Web page...
thank a Teacher;
If you've been able to read this Web page in English...
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
means--including photocopying, recording, taping, Internet distribution,
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without the prior, express, written permission of the author.
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Web site URL:
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