No signs of man missing in wilderness

As of late Wednesday afternoon, a growing search-and-rescue effort had yet to uncover any signs of a Pennsylvania man who went missing in the Bob Marshall Wilderness near Augusta earlier this week.

Teton County Sheriff Keith Van Setten said local teams were continuing to scour an increasingly wide area in search of Eric James Hellmuth, 21, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, who became separated from an outfitter-led group in the Sun River’s North Fork drainage on Monday.

“We still have a very large search area that’s getting bigger. We’ve had helicopters flying all day,” Van Setton said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m pretty pleased with the response to this point. We’ve got a long way to go, because that’s a lot of country back there.”

The 40th Helicopter Squadron out of Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls on Wednesday joined the sheriff’s office, Teton County Search and Rescue, Two Bear Air Rescue and the Lewis and Clark National Forest for a search that Van Setten expects will include about two-dozen personnel by Thursday morning.

Hellmuth was last seen heading in a northeasterly direction in the Cabin Creek area Monday afternoon. He was about four weeks into a hunting-guide training led by a local wilderness outfitter, Van Setten said, but had left his gear behind and is believed to be wearing only a black T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of moccasin-type shoes — “Not the type of shoes someone would wear for much of an adventure.”

“That’s the biggest concern is just his well-being. He’s not prepared for the elements at all,” Van Setten added, noting that low overnight temperatures are common in the area this time of year.

The sheriff described Hellmuth as a white male with dark, medium-length hair, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and of average build. The outfitter leading the pack trip was first able to report Hellmuth’s disappearance Tuesday morning.

The area where he went missing requires about a 17-mile hike or horseback ride into the forest, and Van Setten said most of Tuesday was spent just getting crews and supplies into the wilderness area.

“It’s kind of a logistical challenge, in that our access is very restricted and it takes a lot of time just to get to the point where we can start searching,” he said. “Because of the distance involved our search teams weren’t able to do anything yesterday. I wish we could wiggle our nose and be there, but we can’t.”

With winds expected to pick up as the evening wears on, helicopter crews will likely be grounded overnight. Van Setten said additional county personnel are preparing to join the search operation Thursday.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.