State Police Charge Lost Skiers For Rescuing Them

By Linda Orlando

Being ignorant in Vermont can cost you, if you’re not careful. In December four men from Perkasie, PA, were visiting Killington Resort and got lost in the woods for over 30 hours. Michael Styer, Jared Raytek and Thomas Arnold, all 23, and Jared Rush, 22, were skiing in a snowy wooded area when they skied out of bounds around 12:15 p.m. on December 19th. Two were on skis and two on snowboards, and they ignored at least three large, fluorescent, easily visible orange warning signs that warned them they were off the main trails. The Killington Resort posts signs warning skiers and snowboarders when they’re approaching resort boundaries, so they won’t get lost. There are also a series of signs beyond the borders for anyone who ignores the first set of signs. The second series tell people that they’ve crossed out of bounds, and warns them to turn back unless they are experienced in backcountry treks and are prepared for an emergency. According to a spokesman for the resort, Tom Horrocks, "There’s plenty of warning."

A friend reported the four men missing about 15 hours after they departed from the main trails, and state police organized three dozen rescue workers and launched a search at about 4:30 a.m. on December 20th, a night when temperatures plummeted lower than 20 degrees below zero. Killington Resort contributed personnel, snowmobiles, and a snow tractor to assist in the search and rescue, which took over 12 hours. A Vermont National Guard helicopter spotted the men’s campfire about 3 p.m., and the men emerged from the woods with rescuers about two hours later. The men said they had survived on gum, breath mints, and snow melted over a fire they built with a lighter and some wet sticks of wood wrapped with a headband.

The four were treated at Rutland Regional Medical Center after their ordeal in December, and the hospital billed them for medical treatment. Last week, they got bills from the police.

State police say the men were negligent because the purposely ignored all of the highly visible, clearly marked warning signs that told them they were off the trails. The cost of the National Guard helicopter was not charged to the men, but the rest of the rescue effort was. The total cost of the operation was $16,711.48, which includes overtime for state police and the costs incurred by two local search and rescue teams that were called in. Each of the men was assessed $4,177.87. According to David Dillon, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, the ski areas would occasionally bill people who got lost on the slopes when the ski resorts themselves were responsible. Those bills would often go unpaid. But Major James Baker of the state police says that if people put themselves in harm’s way, they are in essence claiming responsibility for the charges. "In this case, we determined that we believe their behavior put a lot of folks in danger, and they knew what they were doing, and as a result we billed them."

Due to the cost of rescuing people, the resorts have given up responsibility for searches and rescues to state police, says Tom Horrocks. "It’s one thing when you get a bill from the ski area. It’s another when you get one from state police: ‘And here’s your bill for being ignorant.’"