Vehicle retrieved from 600 foot drop into the river

ST. REGIS – Thursday, January 9, crews from Schober’s Towing were dispatched to recover a vehicle from the shallows of the Clark Fork River, which had gone off the top of the hill on Mill Creek Road.

At the top of the hill, a small group of trucks were gathered around a tow truck. The tow rig had a series of cables extended down the hillside to disappear into the cold January waters. Slowly but surely, a pile of wreckage, once a vehicle, was pulled out of the river. The former vehicle stood as a mute testament of the dangers of winter road hazards.

John Schober, owner of the towing company, reported the jeep rolled end over end down the hill, though could not say how many times it flipped. This was apparent from pieces of debris strewn down the hillside – a roof here, a twisted piece of metal there. When it was finally towed to the road, the former vehicle looked like a mangled ball of metal.

“[Randi Warner] was very lucky,” said Schober. “If she hadn’t got out of [the vehicle], it would’ve been a fatality.”

From the time the crews left the shop to when the vehicle was loaded into the bed of the truck, the rescue took four hours. It was a complicated venture and required assistance from the St. Regis Volunteer Fire Department.

Two of Schober’s employees went down the embankment with the tow truck’s cables. When they reached the bottom, a ladder borrowed from the St. Regis VFD was extended over the water to the vehicle so the cables could be attached safely.

At approximately 600 feet, Schober said this was the longest offshore recovery he had done in 38 years in the business. The vehicle went into the water 10 to 15 feet out from the shore. He said he had recovered approximately 200 wrecks in his career and each one was an adventure.

“It’s been an interesting venture,” said Schober. “I guess that’s what I like best about our business. It seems like every time we go out on one, it is a different one and more of a challenge.”

According to Schober, Warner was on the road Tuesday night when she hit an ice patch and lost control. As it slid, the jeep headed towards the edge of the road. However, the vehicle went over the embankment with the driver’s side to the road and Warner was able to bail out before it went over.

Schober said the situation was a good public service warning to be careful of ice on the roads. He said this was ‘one of the strangest winters’ he had ever experienced in Montana – with large amounts of ice but little snow.

It was stressed how important it is to be conscious of the weather and road conditions when driving, especially at night. Schober would like to make people more aware of the road dangers and said the knowledge could save someone’s life.

“Rain, cold weather and ice,” said Schober. “The roads are very dangerous. Drive careful and watch for ice. Watch for weather conditions.”