Eagle scout fined for rescue

[RememberSchiff 3663]

Opposite climate and location extreme, solo Eagle Scout hiker in the heat of summer in Grand Canyon, tragic results

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/27/AR2009072703242.html

 

Backpacker From Va. Dies in Grand Canyon

Washington Post

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

 

Bryce Gillies, a seasoned hiker and McLean High School graduate, had just returned from an overseas development project when he set out by himself this month on a backpacking trip into the Grand Canyon.

 

Gillies, who attended college in Arizona, was drawn to the canyon there because he "loved its magnificence," his father, Randy Gillies, said Monday night.

 

After a month spent building a clinic in Africa, Gillies began the backpacking trip July 18, his 20th birthday. Three days later, he was reported overdue, the National Park Service said. Searchers, led by Park Ranger Anne Petersen, found his body Saturday.

 

Officials had not released a cause of death, but his father said it appeared to be dehydration. Apparently, his father said, a small navigational error was compounded by extreme temperatures.

 

The Park Service said Gillies's car was found at the Bill Hall trail head, half way between the canyon's Tuweep section and a developed area on the park's north rim.

 

After a wide-ranging search turned up personal items, rescuers focused on the Bonita Creek area. Gillies was found about one-half mile from where the creek joins the Colorado River, the Park Service said.

 

Bryce Gillies had carried enough water for the route he planned, his father said. But he said the apparent navigational error kept his son from reaching Thunder River, where he intended to replenish his supply.

 

Randy Gillies said he was told that Bryce tried to save himself by descending toward the floor of the canyon, to reach the water flowing there. As he headed down, the father said, his son descended 20- to 35-foot rock faces without a rope. At that point he found himself at the top of a 100-foot drop that he couldn't negotiate unaided.

 

"Bryce made a heroic effort to rescue himself," the father said.

 

But the predicament might have been insurmountable. At the high temperatures that had set in, the father said, dehydration can occur in as "little as a couple of hours."

 

Randy Gillies thanked searchers for their efforts, and he emphasized the importance of filing a backcountry permit, which he called imperative for any wilderness venture.

 

The father lives in McLean with Gillies's mother, Warna. A brother, Neal, also survives. According to the father, Gillies graduated in 2007 from McLean High and then entered Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, near the canyon.

 

Gillies, an Eagle Scout, had taken college calculus at George Mason University in high school and was a physics major in college. He had a four-year president's scholarship at the university, which he chose in part for the area's beauty. At Northern Arizona, Gillies, an outdoor enthusiast who had hiked the Appalachian Trail, learned to kayak and to rock climb.

 

He had spent June in Ghana as a project leader with Engineers Without Borders to build a medical clinic, and his father said he looked on such work as a possible career.

 

[gpronger 10]

Reading all the feedback makes me wonder what happen to the 'human factor'. The reason we have rescue units, fire departments, police, life squads etc. is to save a human life wherever we can. Sure, this costs money - that money is paid for through our tax base. Beside how much is a human life worth? We spend billions to go to war and cant spend 25k to save someone? Whats wrong with us?

Yes, humans can be stupid resulting in an injury. We teach our scouts how to take care of themselves and others. We do not 'charge' for this service. What would the non-scouting public think if every time an Eagle Scout rescued someone - they gave them a bill. Should we alter our oath and law to stipulate that we will do it for a fee? What do we teach our children when we do this? What does the rest of the world think of us when they read about it?

Regardless of this young mans status as an Eagle Scout, why would we bill someone for a 'rescue'? We should be proud of the fact that we have the technology and resources to go to such great lengths to save a life.

If this is where we are headed then how about a full accounting of all the associated tax revenue (including this Scouts paid taxes) for every human in this area divided by the cost of the rescue services that these taxpayers may never use, and then figure out if this in a net loss operation. Oh, and lest we forget, anyone who passes away having never used the rescue service should be given a refund and a posthumous thank you letter for never making a stupid mistake.

So, in conclusion and in line with my policy not to complain or criticize without a recommendation, here goes; any one or a combination of these should do nicely

1) All scouts from here on should charge for good turns, community service, and Eagle Projects, this fee will be banked to pay for the rescue of any scouter

2) All rescue organizations that charge the public for a rescue should be exempted from any tax money collected for such a service, local, State or Federal - period! Our Military should not be engaged to protect them unless they are charged accordingly. I might add that since this recent Trillion dollar financial bailout cost an estimated 90k per citizen these people should be billed immediately!

3) Those that get the tax money - should provide the rescue for free - after all is it not their duty to protect and serve, don't some actually take an oath?

4) If we cannot get our local rescue and emergency service organizations to provide this service as a basic human need, then have our military do it - they are paid for

5) Since emergency services are usually provided because of stupid mistakes - outlaw stupid mistakes

6) All of us realize we are here for each other, and out of our respect for human life we will all, at any given time, go to extraordinary extremes to help one and other through the challenges of life, regardless of the reason............... a human life is precious and should be saved whenever possible no qualifications and no bill period

7) In my particular case, if I make a stupid mistake and end up requiring a rescue, forget it, let me die. Its better than coming home bankrupt!