Mt Hood "rescue"

[peter303]

Curious. I wonder if he planned it all along or something about the climb, e.g. thin air, that triggered the urge.

Suicides in national parks are not rare. Maybe its the feeling of dying in a beautiful place is better. And not leaving a mess back in the homestead. Usually prople dont do a long, streneous hike beforehand.

[oldschool]

Climber in distress? That is not what I read in the story. Man intent on suicide. Acknowledge the difference or we have nothing to discuss.

A man calls 911 from the top of a mountain and says I am going to overdose on pills. Send a chopper? Really?

What if the suicidal target had a gun? Not unusual for individuals to use a firearm for their final solution. Would you fly your chopper into that scene?

He obviously didn't want to die or he would not have made the call. Let him walk down.

It was inappropriate to risk that kind of manpower and those resources on someone who did not want to come down. It could have ended badly, and for what?

Too harsh?

I am guessing the OP agrees, or he would not post with the snarky title.

If they gave us a little more in the story, if the caller said something like; "I came up here to die, but now I have seen Jesus and I want to come down, but I am stuck", then maybe. . .

Yup, too harsh.

Man calls 911 from his living room, woman calls 911 from a lake, teenager calls 911 from a bridge or talk building. All irrelevant to the role the people that rescue and serve play.

Oh, and Jesus has nothing to do with this, but nice try.

[IntrepidXJ]

He obviously didn't want to die or he would not have made the call. Let him walk down.

Exactly....what he wanted was attention. If he really wanted to kill himself, he would have just done it.

[oldschool]

He obviously didn't want to die or he would not have made the call. Let him walk down.

Exactly....what he wanted was attention. If he really wanted to kill himself, he would have just done it.

This clearly indicates a person in distress.

The lack of empathy shown in some of the responses in this post is f#cked up...

[jrbren_vt]

He obviously didn't want to die or he would not have made the call. Let him walk down.

Exactly....what he wanted was attention. If he really wanted to kill himself, he would have just done it.

This clearly indicates a person in distress.

The lack of empathy shown in some of the responses in this post is f#cked up...

Lack of empathy, total lack of understanding of the real situation, replacing that with baseless assumptions, welcome to the internet. I'ld save your energy, oldschool. Thankfully SAR executes better judgement then this.

[Wildernessjane]

Here’s another take on it: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnew ... 018-07-13/

Sounds like he climbed Mount Hood with the intention of taking his own life but may have changed his mind and couldn’t get down safely. Who knows if he even had the skills or experience to be on the mountain in the first place (which is less relevant if you plan on dying there, right?). Makes a lot more sense than him calling 911 and threatening to take an overdose. Seriously though, how often does the media botch up the details of these sorts of things?

[billycox]

Exactly....what he wanted was attention. If he really wanted to kill himself, he would have just done it.

I wish more suicidal/depressed people would seek attention rather than just doing it.

[lafiurcm]

Wasn't the county and 911 call center just sued for $10 million dollars for taking too long to respond to a fall on Hood last year? I'd like to think help would be sent in this situation, regardless, but I'm sure the response to accidents on Hood will be a lot quicker than in previous years or compared to other mountains.

[spiderman]

I am glad that SAR has better judgement than many people on this message board. Mental health issues are just as real as physical health problems. We have enough resources in this country to address both topics if we want to.

[Brian C]

He obviously didn't want to die or he would not have made the call. Let him walk down.

Exactly....what he wanted was attention. If he really wanted to kill himself, he would have just done it.

Wow. It's a terrible showing of personality to openly express such a blatant and callous disregard for other people. Mental health is something that so many people don't understand or care to understand.

Something to think about.

Also, I saw this a while back and this reminded me of it (2:20 especially)...

[spiderman]

Thanks for posting that video, Brian. A large fraction of this community have had friends or family members who either committed or seriously thought about suicide.

[speth]

In this thread: “I couldn’t be bothered to read the facts of the incident or the article in question, but let’s have a nuanced discussion about the role of SAR while I e-vomit about mental health.”