Grateful tread : Stuck snowmobiler donates cash

The Daily Inter Lake

A couple snowmobiling Sunday near Mystery Lake reportedly got in a jam.

Tom Snyder, the Sheriff's Office coordinator for search-and-rescue, said the pair went off a trail and couldn't get back up a steep slope. They reluctantly called for help and Flathead Search and Rescue prepared to go in.

Snyder said that a member of the rescue team happened to be in the area and was able to help muscle out the sled.

Snyder said he met later with the downcast snowmobiler and took routine information about him. The man asked Snyder whether he would get a big bill for the help; Snyder told him that search-and-rescue does not charge for its services.

Relieved, the man asked whether the organization accepted donations. Although Snyder can't because he works in the public sector for the Sheriff's Office, another member of search-and-rescue was happy to take a $500 donation.