Colorado man rescued after 10 hours trapped in 5 feet of snow during storm

GILPIN COUNTY, Colo. — A Colorado man found himself in a life-threatening situation during a snowstorm that left him stuck Thursday in 5 feet of frigid snow.

Bren Wilson was attempting to plow through snow near his family’s Gilpin County home when his tractor got stuck, 9News in Denver reported. His daughter, Kyla Wilson, told the news station about the dilemma.

“When he started plowing, it was a lot more snow than he could’ve expected. He started gettyimathat morning, and the snow just didn’t let up,” Kyla Wilson said. “He said he got out of the tractor and (the snow) was immediately up to his chest.”

Bren Wilson’s plan was to make his way to a portion of roadway that he expected to have already been plowed. He was wearing warm clothing but was not outfitted for what ended up being hours walking through the deep snowdrifts.

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When he didn’t return home by nightfall, his family grew worried. Kyla Wilson, who was away at school, learned he was missing and called his cellphone.

An exhausted Bren Wilson answered and told her of his predicament. By that point, he had stopped walking and instead dug a cave in the snow in which to rest and await help, ABC 7 reported.

“I tried to tell him, I said, ‘Where are you? What do you see? Don’t build your cave in the middle of the road,” Kyla Wilson said. “You need to call 9-1-1. You need to call 9-1-1.’ But the line disconnected and he didn’t hear me.”

Family members made that call for him, an action that launched the Alpine Rescue Team, a group of volunteer rescuers who respond to emergencies in extreme conditions across Gilpin, Clear Creek and Jefferson counties.

“Snow conditions were challenging, to say the least,” team member Steve Wilson, who is no relation to Bren or Kyla Wilson, told 9News. “Roughly 5 feet or so of fresh, unconsolidated powder that made snow machines and skiing and snowshoeing very, very difficult.”

When the rescuers’ snowmobiles also became stuck in the snow, they had to get out and use skis to make their way across the tricky terrain.

“At one point, our mission coordinator told us we had gone a quarter of a mile in four hours,” Steve Wilson said, according to ABC 7.

Meanwhile, Kyla Wilson was able to get her father back on the phone. She spoke to him for more than 90 minutes, trying to keep him awake through his exhaustion and the cold.

“He just kept saying, ‘I’m so sleepy, so tired,’” she told 9News. “I said, ‘Don’t go to sleep because we both know if you do, you’re not going to wake up.”

Kyla Wilson kept her father talking and awake until the rescue team located him.

“They were able to stabilize him, warm him up, get him some warm liquids, food,” Steve Wilson told the news station. “After being out in conditions, you’ll be dehydrated, you’ll need some calories for your body to start generating heat. Got him in some warmer jackets, off the snow, until basically the cavalry arrived.”

Once the team got Bren Wilson out of the cold and to safety, he was taken to a Denver hospital for treatment of hypothermia. He was released Friday to recover at home.

“It’s scary how quickly people can be taken away from you. It’s just a miracle he’s with us,” Kyla Wilson said. “And I’m going to take every day I can to make the most of every second I get with him.”

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