SUBLETTE COUNTY — The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office has released more information on the search and rescue operation that led to the rescue of Corey Jensen, 35 of Boulder, Wyoming and Clayton Wallace, 48 of Pinedale.

The operation was a success due to the volunteers who assisted in the search.

From a press release:

On January 3, 2017, at 8:45 am, Tip Top Search, and Rescue members located the missing snowmobilers.

The snowmobilers had become stuck in a steep drainage along the south fork of the Hoback, they were unable to ride out. They siphoned gasoline out of one snowmobile to keep a fire going in a large pit in the snow that they had covered with pine brows to stay warm. One of the snowmobilers made numerous attempts to ride his snowmachine out of the drainage but was unsuccessful on January 1st and 2nd. On the morning of January 3rd he was able to ride his snowmachine up the steep drainage and make it out where he located the Tip Top Search and Rescue members who were assigned to that area for their search.

No injuries were reported to any of the Tip Top Search and Rescue members or the volunteers from the community. Both snowmobilers were safe and had no injuries. Both snowmobilers refused medical treatment.

The positive outcome of this search relied heavily on the fact that these two snowmobilers were prepared when they went into the backcountry. They had resources with them to sustain themselves for two nights in sub-zero temperatures. This provided them with the opportunity to survive in these conditions until they were rescued by Tip Top Search and Rescue.

The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office and Tip Top Search and Rescue would again like to thank everyone that assisted in this search.