Independence Pass – A woman and three children were rescued Tuesday morning after getting lost and spending the night in subfreezing weather.
A search party located Stephanie “Stevi” Sakson, 48, of Carbondale, at 10:15 a.m. and found 9-year-olds Andra Sakson, Jillian Wentzel and Matthew Palomino and a Jack Russell terrier above timberline 25 minutes later.
“The bottom line is, we made a wrong turn,” Sakson said during an interview later in the day. “We found a safe place to stay and hit bad weather, and rescue was all over it. They were phenomenal.”
The four hikers were cold, tired and hungry but otherwise in good shape, according to Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies. They were found a half-mile off the Midway Trail at an elevation of approximately 12,000 feet.
While the Mountain Rescue Aspen team has a policy not to discuss members of the team, Aron Ralston, who won international fame after severing his own arm to free himself from a boulder in the Utah canyonlands, was reportedly part of the search.
The children appeared in high spirits as they slogged down the muddy trail, giggling, chatting and sticking their tongues out at news photographers.
Sakson said the children did not panic and the dog helped them keep warm.
“They kept their heads on,” she said. “They remained helpful and in a space of knowing that it would work out. When I asked them to do something that needed to be done, they were happily accommodating.”
Once Sakson and the children emerged from the mountains, they were greeted by anxious parents.
“I’m sorry,” Stephanie Sakson sobbed to another parent who embraced her tightly.
The group set out on a short hike Monday morning but were not equipped for spending the night. They grew disoriented and could not find their way back, authorities said. They had been expected to return at 3 p.m. and were reported missing at 6 p.m.
They found some makeshift shelter and huddled for warmth.
“The kids were lined up like sardines with their hands in their armpits,” Sakson said, adding that the terrier covered their feet. “He’s our hero. He really kept those extremities for the children warm.”
Search teams, which included rescue dogs, began combing the area about 8 p.m. In all, 25 people from six regional search teams joined in the effort, working until 2 a.m. Rain, snow and fog made conditions difficult for searchers and grounded their aircraft.
The parents of the missing children, meanwhile, drove up the pass to the trailhead where they spent the night awake and worrying about their kids’ fate.
“To have your child lost in the woods at a high elevation is terrifying,” Jim Wentzel said. “We’re just thrilled that this has come to an end. We’re the happiest parents in the world. The (rescuers) did an incredibly professional job.”
Hugh Zuker, the leader of Mountain Rescue Aspen, said children are at higher risk when exposed to the elements since they have less body fat than adults.
“When there are kids involved, we’re all pretty stressed about it,” he said.
Aron Ralston, who won international fame after severing his own arm off after getting trapped underneath a boulder for days in the Utah canyonlands, was among the rescuers who located the missing children, according to witnesses. Zuker, however, said it is not Mountain Rescue’s policy to identify individual heroics.
“It was a total team effort,” he said.
Snow covered the upper reaches of the trail and authorities said at Midway Pass, near where the hikers were located, it reached the knees of most adults. Pitkin County Deputy Tom Grady noted that a recent sighting of suspected grizzly bears in the area concerned rescuers. Grizzlies were believed extirpated from Colorado until one was confirmed in the San Juans in 1979. The most recent sighting has not been confirmed, however, and state officials are investigating.
George Lilly, office coordinator at Carbondale-based Waldorf School, where the rescued children were students, said classes were not in session Monday due to the Yom Kippur holiday. She said teachers informed classes at the private school of 180 students about the missing classmates Tuesday morning in factual manner.
I think there was an attitude from many of the kids that they d be OK.
They had confidence in their ability to be found, Lilly said. Now we re all elated.
