[UA] Harrison Ford rescues missing Wyoming hiker

[R. Menzi]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 11, 2001 | JACKSON, Wyo. -- 

Harrison Ford starred in a search-and-rescue sequel
for a missing Boy Scout in a forest just south of
Yellowstone National Park. 

The actor, a part-time Jackson resident who offers his
flying skills and helicopter for rescue missions,
joined a search for a missing Utah Boy Scout who had
wandered off a trail Monday and spent a cold night
alone in the secluded forest, said the Teton County
Sheriff's Office in Wyoming. 

After two hours of flying, Ford and another searcher
found 13-year-old Cody Clawson, clad in a T-shirt,
shorts and sandals, about 10 miles from a Boy Scout
camp at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. He landed nearby to whisk
the soggy, cold, tired and hungry scout to safety. 

"Boy, you sure must have earned a merit badge for this
one," said Ford, who turns 59 this week. 

"I already earned this badge last summer," Clawson
replied. 

Clawson survived the rainy night by taking cover under
a rock outcropping. He planned to resume the scout
trip, which is scheduled to end Saturday, said his
mother, Peggy Clawson. 

"Cody said the kids asked if he got an autograph and
he said, `No, but I got a hug and a handshake, and
that's better than an autograph,"' she said. 

The boy was separated from the rest of Troop 241 from
Huntsville, Utah, while carrying supplies from a
vehicle to a campsite in Loll Boy Scout Camp, which is
in Targhee National Forest about a mile south of the
Yellowstone National Park boundary and about 40 miles
north of Jackson. 

He disappeared around 2 p.m., Monday, and searchers
looked for four hours before calling authorities in
Fremont County in Idaho and Teton County in Wyoming. 

They resumed the search at 6 a.m., Tuesday, including
a Wyoming Air Patrol plane and Ford's helicopter. 

This is the second time in a year Ford guided his
helicopter into the backcountry for a rescue. 

Last July, he plucked an Idaho Falls, Idaho, hiker off
11,106-foot Table Mountain in Teton County. Megan
Freeman climbed the mountain, but altitude sickness
and dehydration left her ill and unable to climb down.
Ford picked her up and flew her to a hospital. 


Associated Press

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