Author Topic: Lost Cowboy  (Read 2886 times)

Offline PJ Hardtack

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Lost Cowboy
« on: February 02, 2019, 02:22:50 PM »
Payer request .....

Five days ago, Ben Tyner, manager of the Nicola Ranch near Merritt, BC went missing. His fully saddled horse was found wondering in the Swakum Mountain area where he was reported to have ridden.

Tyner stands 6'3", fit and in good health. He got the job, coming from Wyoming just last November. He is bush savvy.

Several S&R Teams and an RCMP helicopter have been combing the area with no sign of him as yet. His parents have come from Wyoming to assist in the search.

I was a S&R Team Leader in Merritt for a few years and spent a lot of time on the ground in both search missions and while hunting. It is rugged, big tree country and gets a lot of snow in winter at higher elevations. There are many ravines and it is easy to become disorientated when it is overcast as they all look alike.

I was tracking a deer in the same kind of terrain and after a while realized that I was not going to be able to walk back to my truck, but knew if I walked due south, I'd come to the highway. I did so and hitched a ride back to town, returning the next day to retrieve my truck. Otherwise I would have become the subject of a search and would have spent a cool night on the mountain.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

Offline Coal Creek Griff

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2019, 04:39:15 PM »
I'm praying. What has the weather been like in that area? One would assume that he's injured, but if it isn't too cold... 

CC Griff
Manager, WT Ranch--Coal Creek Division

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Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2019, 04:53:13 PM »
It's  been cold, but not the frigid temps we've been having here and points north.

I think he's been injured. Hopefully he has the means of making a fire.

Right now I'd be telling my team to look for a murder of crows/ravens or unusual coyote activity.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #3 on: Today at 09:32:56 AM »

Offline Sir Charles deMouton-Black

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2019, 07:00:52 PM »
I saw that on the news. I hope he turns up alright. As time passes the outlook starts to rapidly diminish. I too have had some close calls, and now at 76, I sure don't go out alone.
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Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2019, 07:50:44 PM »
I'm 76 as well and I continue to hunt alone. It never occurs to me that anything could happen out there that God and me cannot handle together.

I got a moose draw this fall and never saw a moose to shoot. Had I done so, I would have been able to gut it on my own, and perhaps handle quarters with my electric winch. Otherwise, I'd have been looking for help.

I got into some tight situations that required digging and chainsawing just to get moving again. I regard that as part of the challenge and why I chose this lifestyle. I file a flight plan with my wife, but I rarely stick to it. I was in SAR for years and my team mates used to remind me that SAR exists because of people like me.

My motto: "If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking up too much room". My wife says she is too young to be a widow.

I x-country ski and kayak alone and do a lot of chain sawing every year for fire wood I supply to needy people and the community hall.

Why?

Because I don't know anyone in my age group who can keep up with me and all the younger guys are working! If I go down out there, I will die doing what I love to do.  There are much worse ways to go.

I'm 8 years in cancer remission, so I'm already on borrowed time ......  ;D
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #5 on: February 03, 2019, 11:29:22 AM »
-28C with a wind today. It doesn't look good for Ben Tyner in the Merritt area.

God be with his family and the searchers.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

Offline Slamfire

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #6 on: February 03, 2019, 05:46:53 PM »
Don't know this cowboy,, but after reading about him " HERE ",, said a prayer for him in church this morning, Thanks PJ .

 coffee's ready,,( would like to share a cup w/ Tyner,, ) Hootmix.

Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2019, 10:44:53 AM »
After 7 days, the search has been called off. A total of 26 SAR Teams, two dogs and a helicopter were part of the search effort.

Frigid temps made it unlikely that he survived more than three nights even if he was uninjured and had the means of making a fire.

I'm sure that volunteers will continue the search to find any remains that might help bring a measure of closure to the family.

Locally today, it is -34C (-25F) and mercifully - no wind.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

Offline Coal Creek Griff

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2019, 10:51:28 AM »
Thanks for the update.  That's a tough situation. Perhaps now more than ever the family is in need of prayer.

CC Griff
Manager, WT Ranch--Coal Creek Division

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Offline Dave T

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2019, 09:59:52 AM »
Perhaps now more than ever the family is in need of prayer.
CC Griff

Amen brother, amen.

Dave

Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2019, 12:06:07 PM »
I thank all of you for your concern and prayers. I've been the recipient of many such prayers over the years and I KNOW they work.

I once asked a Cowboy poet and working rancher I know why so many Cowboy poems were spiritual by nature. Answer:

"When you spend so much time alone under God's sky, if you don't have a spiritual side, you'll go crazy out there. And if you don't have a relationship with the good Lord, the first time you find yourself with one foot caught in a stirrup and a barbed wire fence coming up fast, you're about to develop one."

I've never been in that exact situation, but I've put myself in a few where I was in dire need of help and there was only one source.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

Offline PJ Hardtack

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Re: Lost Cowboy
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2019, 10:22:05 AM »
After 7 days, the official search for Ben Tyner has been called off. The matter has been turned over to the Major Crimes Unit of the RCMP for investigation.

I was once involved in such a search after a local rider found a human skull on the outskirts of town. We did a very thorough ground search over a wide area and turned up a surprising number of bones and bone fragments, none of which were human. The skull could not be connected to any unexplained disappearances.

The Nicola Valley has a tragic record of murders/suspicious deaths, one of them a neighbour of mine, killed in a robbery gone wrong. The local editor was pilloried for saying the town had a record of 10 such incidents during the last decade. He dug further and admitted he was wrong - it was twelve!

Easy access to the very rugged terrain makes hiding bodies relatively easy. Not that I've done it, but when you can't find a deer you've shot, you appreciate that with a little effort, you could hide anything.
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on.
I don't do these things to others and I require the same from them."  John Wayne

 

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