Bend snow biker hits tree, injured near Kwohl Butte, prompting rescue effort

SPOT satellite GPS tracking safety device activated

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend man was injured Saturday afternoon when his snow bike struck a tree near Kwohl Butte, south of Mt. Bachelor, and a satellite GPS monitoring device helped prompt a rescue effort and air ambulance flight to the hospital, authorities said.

Around 2:25 p.m., Deschutes County 911 dispatchers got a call from a monitoring service that said a SPOT device had been activated, said sheriff’s Deputy Shane Zook, assistant Search and Rescue coordinator.

The monitoring service contacted their customer, who said the 46-year-old Bend man was injured and needed help, Zook said. The 911 call-taker was given coordinates for the injured person near Kwohl Butte, about two miles south of Mt. Bachelor.

Zook said a deputy contacted a member of the injured man’s party and learned he had struck a tree while riding a snow bike and needed help from Search and Rescue.

Around 2:40 p.m., a deputy asked that SAR volunteers respond to assist in the rescue. Six SAR members with the snowmobile and medical teams responded to the scene, and due to the extent of injuries, AirLink was placed on standby, Zook said.

SAR volunteers reached the injured man shortly before 5 p.m., and he was evaluated and prepared for transport, the deputy said. AirLink was requested and responded to a landing zone near the Kwohl Butte Shelter.

Around 7 p.m., the man was transferred onto the AirLink helicopter, which flew him to St. Charles Bend.