Hiker, 17, missing

The Daily Inter Lake

Rescue personnel are searching for a 17-year-old Bigfork boy who went missing Friday while backpacking in the Jewel Basin area.

The boy, whose name has not been released, planned to hike the area alone, according to Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert.

The boy was dropped off near a trailhead in the Camp Misery area about 10:30 a.m. Friday, but failed to arrive at the agreed location when his father returned for him about 7 p.m.

After searching the area on their own, the boy's father and another son contacted U.S. Forest Service rangers and Sheriff's Office dispatchers shortly after midnight.

Rescue personnel conducted a brief search in the early hours of Saturday morning, but were unable to find the boy, Wingert said.

Later Saturday, rescue personnel with the Flathead County Search and Rescue team, Flathead County Sheriff's Office, and U.S. Forest Service scoured trails in the Camp Misery area. A small helicopter aided in the search, Wingert said.

A second helicopter from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls was expected to join the search Saturday night. That helicopter is equipped with night-vision and infrared technology.

The boy, reportedly a fan of the television show "Survivorman," had hiked with his father prior to Friday but is believed to have little experience backpacking alone, Wingert said.

The North Valley Search and Rescue team will relieve the Flathead County Search and Rescue team today.