Man rescued after apparent hunting accident

PLAINS - A 63-year-old male shot himself in the thigh earlier this morning at the top of Henry Creek, which is east of Plains off Montana highway 200.

According to scanner traffic, the male hiked in for hunting, and had a .30-06 high-powered rifle on his person. The emergency call from the male came in shortly after 9 a.m. and authorities were at first unable to physically locate the male. 

Authorities later confirmed the male had fallen while hiking and shot himself during the fall.

At 10 a.m. the male reported via cell phone to Sanders County Dispatch that he had reduced the bleeding, was laying in the snow, and was wet. Ten minutes later, it was reported by the male that he was getting very cold and was attempting to start a fire. Authorities, which included Search & Rescue, Sanders County Sheriff Tom Rummel, Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District, and navigational aid from the Plains DNRC, attempted for an hour to find the male. It was reported that the male was located at the top of a ridge between Henry Creek and McLaughlin Creek. DNRC confirmed to officials that the roads taken to reach him would be gate 252, road #4271. At about 10:42 a.m. the victim's cell phone no longer had signal and/or went dead and Dispatch was no longer able to communicate with him. Fifteen minutes later, four individuals with Search & Rescue located the victim after hiking in 2 miles, and assisted the medical helicopter, which had been searching for the victim as well, load the victim onto the helicopter. 

At 11:07 and 11:28 a.m., scanner traffic confirmed Search & Rescue was assisting in placing the victim under medical care for transport via helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The name of the victim remains unknown at this time. Be sure to watch vp-mi.com as this story continues to develop.