72-year-old man falls in hole near Boise, spends night lying stuck in snow

The following is information from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. Stock image.

BOISE — A 72-year-old man who went out to the desert south of Boise to do some target shooting Monday afternoon and didn’t return home that night was found almost a day later lying stuck in the snow.

The man survived and is getting medical treatment.

Deputies later determined the man went out to do some shooting near the Pleasant Valley/ Tenmile Creek roads area and was in the process of setting up a target when he stepped into a hole and fell over. He said his foot was stuck and he couldn’t move, so he spent the night and next morning night lying stuck in the snow in the field.

The man was reported missing by his family just before 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. They told ACSO dispatchers he went out early Monday afternoon to go shooting and never returned home – or went to any of his other family member’s homes Monday night. Once they figured that out, they called 911 immediately.

Deputies pinged the man’s cell phone and searched the desert around the Pleasant Valley/Tenmile Creek/Kuna Mora roads area for several hours but were not able to find the man or his truck, as there was a thick fog and visibility was limited in the area.

Some recreationists found the man lying in the snow in the desert near the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse Corrals around 2 p.m. and called 911.

Paramedics and deputies were able to use four-wheel drive vehicles to get out to the man and get him immediate treatment. Paramedics then transported him to a local hospital for treatment of what appear to be serious but non life-threatening injuries.

The temperature in the area where the man fell hit a low of 16 degrees overnight, according to National Weather Service reports.