Mark Millican
markmillican@daltoncitizen.com
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A search for a hiker missing for two days in the Cohutta Wilderness Area turned out well on Wednesday when rescue squads found him with mild hypothermic conditions, authorities said.
Jason Crane, 50, of Mineral Bluff, was located near the Jacks River area after he saw a helicopter searching for him and called family members, who then relayed the information to search teams, said Lonnie Oliver, director of Fannin County Emergency Services.
“He had been trying to cross the river and was freezing when we found him,” said Oliver, who added Crane was confused, another early sign of hypothermia. “He was suffering from mild hypothermia. The (U.S.) Forest Service had gotten a ‘ping’ on his cellphone and that helped us zero in on his location.”
Crane and his nephew began hiking on Monday on what was supposed to be a day hike, said Dwayne Bain, director of the Emergency Management Agency in Murray County.
“They came in from the Fannin County side and made a wrong turn,” Bain said early Wednesday. “His car (was) parked in Fannin County, but when they came down on the trail he made a wrong turn and hit the wrong trail, apparently, and came out on our (Murray County) side. (The nephew) stayed at a camp they made, while the other one went back to get the vehicle, which is going to be a pretty good, long hike. They went in at Dally Gap in Fannin County on Monday, were going to make a short loop walk, but evidently got on the wrong trail and came out at Beech Bottoms. And then they walked the road down to Jacks River Trail at the (Georgia-Tennessee) state line, that’s where they set up a camp. The nephew stayed at camp while the uncle went hiking back to Dally Gap.”
Bain said the nephew was picked up on Tuesday.
Oliver said neither man appeared to have camping gear that would have kept them comfortable for two nights in a wilderness area, especially Tuesday night when the temperature dropped below freezing in the mountains.
“Murray County’s always good to work with us when somebody goes missing in the mountains,” Oliver said.
With more than 40,000 acres in Georgia and Tennessee (where it’s known as Big Frog Wilderness Area), the Cohuttas comprise the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi, according to the Georgia’s Blue Ridge Experience website (www.blueridgemountains.com/cohuttas.html).
