Searchers find body of hiker; hope remains for Tingwall

Rescued officer recalls he and pilot talked during night

| The New Mexican

6/11/2009 - 6/12/09

Searchers combing an area of a helicopter crash east of Santa Fe have confirmed Thursday that the body of hiker Neguchi Yamamoto has been found.

They still have hope that State Police Sgt. Andy Tingwall remains alive.

Two teams of search-and-rescue personal, comprised of three to four members, recovered Yamamoto's body and are continuing the search for Tingwall.

"If anyone can be out there and last in these conditions, it's Sgt. Tingwall," said Eric Garcia, state police spokesman.

Garcia said officials have notified Yamamoto's parents in Tokyo of the UNM student's death. She was in New Mexico on a student visa and was camping with a boyfriend, also a UNM student.

Meanwhile, Officer Wesley Cox, remains in stable condition after undergoing surgery Thursday at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center. Cox, who was the spotter in the helicopter, received internal injuries and major injuries to his right leg. Cox might also have a spinal injury, New Mexico Department of Public Safety spokesperson Peter Olson said.

New details have also come up since Tuesday night's crash. Tingwall and Cox arrived at the mountain around 9:40 p.m., but Tingwall immediately detected the bad weather and told Cox they would have a short window to get out.

Tingwall apparently told Cox "We got to go now, we got to go now."

Cox then pulled Yamamoto into the chopper, strapped her in and then himself. As they were lifting off, Tingwall apparently said to Cox, "the tail rotor might have clipped something."

That's when Tingwall got the helicopter under control, but it was clear that they were going down; at that moment a radio transmission went in with Tingwall's voice saying "We're going down."

Officers said the helicopter hit a steep mountainside and rolled down 800 to 1,000 feet of the tree-covered slope.

Tingwall and Yamamoto were thrown out, but Cox remained in the craft as it swooshed several hundred feet down, the officers said. Once the chopper stopped, Cox checked on Yamamoto because she was closest to him. She was dead. Then both men called out each other's names, but Tingwall was up higher and Cox couldn't get to him due to his injuries. Throughout the night both called out for each other, but in the morning, Cox called Tingwall's name again and there was no response.

Although Cox's right leg was crushed and he had an injured back, he was able to hike out less than a mile until he found a ground team of search and rescuers, according to Olson and State Police Chief Faron Segotta. Cox was also was suffering from hypothermia when he was found and hoisted aboard a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, Segotta said.

Cox told rescuers that Tingwall, 36, and Yamamoto, had not survived the crash, Segotta said.

Rescuers reported Wednesday evening that they had found the fuselage and other debris from the helicopter, but there was still no sign of the two missing people. State police spokesman Eric Garcia said debris from the helicopter is scattered down the mountainside.

The crash happened northeast of Santa Fe Baldy, at about 12,000 feet, officials said. A crew of 18 people hiked through the night in an effort to reach the lower end of the debris field.

Police said Yamamoto is from Tokyo and a student at The University of New Mexico.
Rain, snow and low, fast-moving clouds in the mountains around the Santa Fe ski basin most of the day Wednesday meant aircraft could not be utilized in the search for the helicopter.

Tingwall was the chief pilot for the state police's aircraft division and had more than 1,300 flight hours to his credit. Tingwall also frequently served as a state police media spokesman.

The helicopter is specially equipped for high-altitude search and rescue missions, including landing and taking off at up to 15,000 feet and flying at up to 20,000 feet, said state Public Safety Secretary John Denko. It was purchased in 2003.

The incident began when Yamamoto called 911 from her cell phone about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to report that she had become separated from her boyfriend while hiking and was lost, Olson said. Yamamoto and her boyfriend had been camping at Lake Katherine, which is just east of the 12,622-foot Santa Fe Baldy, he said.

Tingwall and Cox picked her up near Spirit Lake, located southeast of Lake Katherine, a few hours later and took off again for the Santa Fe area, Olson said. Five minutes after they took off, state police dispatchers received a radio communication from Tingwall, who said the helicopter had just hit the side of the mountain, he said.

"Are you 10-4?" the dispatcher asked, using code for "OK."

"Not really," Tingwall radioed back.

That communication, at 9:45 p.m., was the last anyone received from the helicopter. Tingwall's wife is a supervisor at the state police dispatch center and was present when the communications occurred, Olson said.

Cox was thrown from the copter, then returned to it to hunker down inside for the night, Segotta said. He checked the vital signs of Yamamoto, but concluded that had she perished in the crash, the chief said.

Cox and Tingwall called out to each other through the night, Segotta said, which indicates there's a slim chance the pilot could still be alive.

When daybreak came Wednesday, Cox, badly injured and uncertain where Tingwall was, decided he needed to hike out for help, broken bones and all. He walked less than a mile before finding a search-and rescue crew.

Police and rescuers thought the crash likely occurred in terrain Olson described as "very rugged, rough and inhospitable." It may have been raining at the time of the crash, Olson said. A storm that passed through the area Tuesday night and Wednesday morning likely dropped between 5 inches and a foot of snow at that altitude, he said. The helicopter contained numerous provisions, including blankets, food and water, he said.

Segotta said three men camping in the area reported Wednesday that they saw the helicopter take off and circle back around the north side of Santa Fe Baldy before they heard the helicopter's rotor begin to rev at a high pitch, saw a flash of light and heard the crash.

Investigators didn't yet know why the helicopter crashed, he said.

Searchers were able to receive a signal from a beacon on the helicopter that was relayed via satellite, Olson said. During a brief window of opportunity Tuesday night, a helicopter flew in and the pilot heard the tone of the beacon but could not see the wreckage, he said. A ground crew reached the area sometime during the night, but couldn't see anything by daybreak, Olson said.

Low clouds, rain and adverse weather kept helicopters and airplanes grounded most of the day. Gov. Bill Richardson, who arrived at a command post at the mile marker 15 overlook on Hyde Park Road with his wife, Barbara, to show his support, said he asked for help in the search from a special C-130 plane from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque that is able to search through clouds. Later, Segotta said the plane was assisting in the search Wednesday afternoon.

Olson said ground crews were close to the wreckage late Wednesday afternoon but still had not reached it. At the time, it was still too dangerous for most aircraft to join the search, he said.

Cox met up with one of the search-and-rescue ground crews about 12:45 p.m. in an area roughly in the middle of the triangle formed by Lake Katherine, Stewart Lake and Spirit Lake, Segotta said. The spot was close to the area where police were receiving signals from the helicopter beacon, he said.

He was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, Olson said. Cox, a 61/2 year state police veteran, was assigned to the Santa Fe area and is a member of the state police bomb-disposal team, Segotta said. He received a Purple Heart from state police in January 2006 after he was hit by a car on La Bajada Hill in May 2004 during a traffic stop. Cox spent two years recovering from the accident, Segotta said.

Yamamoto's boyfriend returned to his campsite at Lake Katherine on Tuesday night and was being escorted out of the backcountry by search-and-rescue personnel Wednesday, Olson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Jason Auslander at 986-3076 or :jauslander@sfnewmexican.com.