Son Saves Father After Grizzly Attack in Sawtooth Mountains
An Evanston man was attacked by a grizzly in the Sawtooth Mountains on Friday evening.
On October 21st, Lee Francis (65) was hunting with his son in the Rock Creek area when a grizzly attacked, according to a press release from the Sublette County Sheriff's Office.
Sublette County Dispatch responded to the call of the injured man at 5:52 PM, and Tip Top Search and Rescue (TTSAR) were immediately paged thereafter to bring the injured man to medical treatment.
During the attack, Francis drew his hand gun and fired several rounds, causing the bear to stop attacking and flee.
One of the rounds, however, hit Francis in the lower leg, according to the release.
Francis' son quickly activated his SOS device for help, then rushed to stop his father's bleeding.
"As darkness was rapidly approaching, a plan was devised through contact on the SOS device to rendezvous with TTSAR members near Water Dog Lake. Lee’s son was able to assist him on to a horse and make their way back towards the lake while TTSAR members utilizing UTV’s left from the Flying A Ranch."
The two men met up with TTSAR around 9:20 PM in the Big Twin Creek drainage. From there, Francis received further first aid and was taken to the ranch where a life flight helicopter waited.
Francis was life flighted to the University of Utah Hospital. A TTSAR member accompanied Francis' son and horses back to the trailhead.
Wyoming Game and Fish was also notified and Game Wardens are currently conducting an investigation and trying to locate the grizzly bear. This marks the second grizzly bear attack this month in Western Wyoming.