Search and rescue finds man, wife in difficult situation

A man walks into a bar and tells customers he has not had food or water for three days, and his wife and dog are stranded in the forest nearby. This is not a joke.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Monday evening received a report from Happy’s Roadhouse Inn, where Mark Peters told customers his vehicle had a flat tire near Elk Creek, south of Happy’s Inn, and his wife Rosemary had been without food and water for three days. Around 10 p.m., the sheriff’s office dispatched a search-and-rescue team in the search that ended successfully, approximately three hours later.

Many witnesses of the incident described Peters as an elderly gentleman who walked with a cane.

“This guy comes in and says that ‘I just walked out of the woods and I haven’t had food or water for three days,’” said Herman Penttila, the man who was at Happy’s Monday night and called in the report to the dispatch.

According to Penttila, Peters did not have any money on him, so the Happy’s Roadhouse Inn provided him with food and water.

“[Peters] said that his wife or girlfriend had been on the hill for three days without water,” said Randall Hill, another Monday night customer at Happy’s, said.

When customers asked Peters if he was OK, Peters said he was “alright.”

“[Peters] looked seemed sensible enough and did not look like he was on any drugs at the time,” Penttila added.

After Penttila called into the Lincoln County Sherriff’s Office, one search-and-rescue vehicle with three people was dispatched. The search and rescue team met at the Rescue Barn, a search and rescue building down by the Kootenai River, and an hour after the team left the Rescue Barn, they were able to locate Rosemary.

The dog, belonging to Mark and Rosemary was taken to the County Animal Shelter and was secured. According to the County Animal Shelter, the dog was healthy and had no apparent injuries or illnesses.

Lincoln County Sherriff Roby Bowe said he believed there were likely drugs involved in the event.

“I think they were out there and doing drugs and stuff and [Peters] left,” Bowe said.

According to the dispatch report, Peters had a warrant out of Flathead County for writing bad checks in 2011. Flathead County officials told Lincoln County dispatchers they did not want to extradite him back to Flathead County.

Bowe could not give out specifics on Mark and Rosemary’s conditions at the time of the incident, but said he was certain they were both fine.

A Cabinet Peaks Medical Center representative also did not want to comment on the condition of the patients.

Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.