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Officials issue update on Tuesday night Mendocino National Forest snow rescue
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office issued an update on the successful rescue of three young men trapped in the snow in the Mendocino National Forest on Tuesday.
Rescued during the operation were Alexander Winters, 19, of Ukiah; Tyler Bennetto, 25, of Willits; and Jesse Jones, 18, of Redwood Valley, according to Sgt. Andrew Porter.
At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday the Lake County Sheriff's Office notified the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office that they had received notification that a vehicle with three people – Winters, Bennetto and Jones – was stuck in the snow on US Forest Route M-1, just north of the Hull Mountain, Porter said.
Porter said the information relayed to the Mendocino County Sheriff's office indicated that the motorists had become stuck on Monday.
After obtaining GPS coordinates, the Lake County Sheriff's Office determined that the location of the stranded motorists was in Mendocino County, Porter said.
Due to the remote location, coupled with the snowfall and incoming weather front, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reached out to the California Office of Emergency Services to request additional resources to rescue the motorists, according to Porter.
Under the mutual aid system, Porter said Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire District in Middletown deployed a Snowcat, a specialized tracked vehicle for traveling in deep snow along with a rescue crew to assist.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Snowcat and crew were under way driving up Hull Mountain on US Forest Route M-1, Porter said.
Porter said members of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue, and Lake County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue maintained a remote command post near the Gravelly Airport north of Lake Pillsbury.
The Snowcat was able to get within a mile of the stranded motorists before experiencing mechanical problems, Porter said.
While the mechanical problems were being resolved, the rescue crew was able to walk the remaining distance to extricate the motorists back to the Snowcat. Porter said the Snowcat was then able to return to the base camp.
No injuries were reported and all the motorists were rescued, Porter said.