Colorado horse found after days alone in northern Silverthorne wilderness
The problem started July 25 in Summit County when Randi Martinsen began her ride with 17-year-old Colorado horse named Spencer along what she thought was the Acorn Creek "loop" trail, which isn't a loop at all.
"I just kept going higher and higher and we weren't heading back yet," Martinsen said.
She had no cell service, and as the day crept further into the afternoon and she and Spencer climbed higher, she realized she was lost in Colorado's backcountry.
"I panicked," Martinsen said. "I was stupid."
Martinsen said her horse would go no further as she tried to walk alongside him and lead him up, or even down the way they came. She left him on that trail and headed back home to get help that evening.
Over the next few days help came in the form of good Samaritans Adam and Kim Onasch, and Beau Nulik. The three of them began searching the mountainside, with Kim tracking the places they had already searched and Beau picking up traces of horse hoofprints where he could.
Kim also got eyes on the mission online, posting their efforts for anyone else who wanted to join in for the hunt for Spencer.
"Because, you know, finding a lost horse is like finding a needle in a haystack," Kim said.
Beau called in a hiking buddy named Ross Lara, and on Friday, they both set off for an all-day search for the horse. They were able to find more horse hoofprints ... but just as the trail went dark, they found what they were looking for. Spencer was about 50 feet away from them in dense brush, nervous about his rescuers.
That is, until Beau whipped out some oatmeal squares.
"I started shaking the bag and he poked his head around the trees and he's like, 'What you got, man?'"
Beau and Ross helped Spencer down the steep hike and multiple miles home, meeting with the Onaschs along the way.
"I saw Beau walking up the mountain with Spencer, I was like, crying," Kim said. "I have to hug both of you guys."
For Martinsen, the sleepless nights of worry were over, her horse returned home, healthy and happy thanks to fellow Summit County residents.
"I will never be able to thank them enough for rescuing him, I owe you guys so much," Martinsen said.
She said there's several things she would do differently if she was ever trapped like that again, like never riding alone, making sure you have a way to get in contact with someone in an emergency, and in the rare event you need to leave your horse, remove the saddle and bridle from it so it doesn't get stuck on anything. But she said hopefully her mistakes can help stop others from making them, too.
Ross said while he was happy to try and help any animal in need, this was great training for his audition for Summit County Rescue Group, which he hopes to become a part of this year.
Beau was very gracious about the team's efforts, highlighting the Onaschs' efforts to get the mission off the ground.
"If they wouldn't've went out and found the last track so we had a waypoint or pin drop to go off of, you know, we might still be looking for them," Beau said.
