Hedges was reported missing in September 2014. He was last seen in the Campfire Lake area on the western side of the Crazy Mountains. That fall, searchers found a pair of boots, water backpack and a fire spot believed to belong to Hedges on the eastern side of the mountains.

Last summer, a rancher found a bow, backpack and a hunting license with Hedges’ name on it west of Melville. Ronneberg said the remains were located near the same area.

source

There’s not all that much info about this guy.

He had a Camelback/hydration pack,and  a larger pack.

Here’s what could be signs of hypothermia-he didn’t have his boots on-he left them hear a campfire spot.

People find his bow,his pack and his hunting license in a different area.

The guy had to have made some big mistakes.

He either got lost,ran out of food,got too cold/wet,and couldn’t get his core temp back up,which could explain the boots by the campfire-he could have been trying to dry them out,or became so disoriented that he thought he was almost back to camp/home,or….

he was suffering from hypothermia and took his clothes off because he believed he was too hot. That’s a common reaction to severe hypothermia-I saw a guy strip down to his underwear claiming he was hot in the Colorado Rockies during elk season. We got him in clean,dry clothes,and got enough hot food and hot chocolate,tea,and coffee into him in time for him to recover. That was a hunting trip to remember-got over 3 feet of snow between breakfast and dinnertime. It was in the mid 40’s at 7am,and in the low 20’s by 3 pm or so. The guy who had hypothermia wasn’t dressed for the cold temps,yet he sat in the spot we put him until we came back to get him near dark.  He could have hiked back to camp-it was under 2 miles.

Every year in NW  Montana-we were asked to help search for a lost elk hunter, most of the time we found the guy,or guys,a couple times,we found bodies.

You have to know the area,have a good topo map,a good compass,and know how to use both.

You need to carry extra food,have multiple means of starting a fire,have a way to purify water-Lifestraw,Sawyer Mini,etc.

You have to have dry clothes-and no cotton clothing-there’s a reason for the term cotton kills.

You also need a good folding saw,and a good hatchet or hawk.

Carry the right tools,learn how to use them if you haven’t done so,and you won’t end up being a newspaper article about your decomposed body being found.

Read.

Learn.

Train.

Do More PT!