Missing Man Found, Returned To Safety

By Andrew Gorosko

An urgent and arduous search and rescue effort launched amid the dark, rugged, snow-laden terrain of the 794-acre Upper Paugussett State Forest on the cold night of Saturday, December 20, proved successful after a search team located and brought to safety via boat on Lake Lillinonah a man and his dog who had become lost in the dense woods while taking a hike.

Police Sergeant Douglas Wisentaner said searchers eventually found Peter Urban, 32, and his pit bull terrier after having searched for the lost man for about three hours across the difficult terrain of the state forest off Hanover Road. Mr Urban showed obvious signs of exposure to the cold when he was found, the sergeant said.

Searchers found Mr Urban in a rugged area near the shore of Lake Lillinonah. He had entered the woods on a fire road near the intersection of Hanover Road and Silver City Road. Mr Urban had told his father that he planned to hike from 3 to 4:30 pm that day.

Initially, searchers were able to follow Mr Urban’s footprints in the freshly fallen snow, but that task became more difficult as the forest trail narrowed as it extended into the woods, Sgt Wisentaner explained.

All told, about 50 people participated in the effort, including town police, state police, volunteer firefighters from Newtown Hook & Ladder and from Sandy Hook, Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue (NUSAR), Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and firefighters from Goshen, who provided the use of a specialized boat intended for water/ice rescue work. Tracking dogs from Newtown police, Monroe police, and state police were called to the scene, but only Newtown’s dog was used in the search.

Police sought to have the state police’s Trooper One helicopter and the LifeStar medical helicopter come to the area, but weather conditions prevented both from being flown that night.

Sgt Wisentaner said that town police received a call from Mr Urban’s father, who lives at 150 Hanover Road, at about 5:42 pm, stating that his son had been expected to return from a walk in the woods, but had not come back when expected and was thus missing and presumably lost in the woods. Peter Urban had grown up in Newtown but now lives elsewhere.

Police went to the residence and learned that Peter Urban had a cellphone with him and obtained his phone number as an aid to locating him in the forest, the sergeant said.

Police called for aid from Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters. Sandy Hook firefighters used their all-terrain vehicle (ATV) for part of the search.

Entering the state forest from the fire road where Mr Urban had started his trek, the searchers attempted to track his route into the woods, Sgt Wisentaner said.

Police were able to contact Mr Urban via cellphone for help in determining where he was in the cold dark forest.

Emergency dispatcher John Facto stayed in touch with Mr Urban during the incident via cellphone, Sgt Wisentaner said, commending Mr Facto’s efforts in that regard, as well as other dispatchers.

Mr Urban provided a general physical description of the area where he was located via cellphone.

But to get a clearer idea of where the hiker was lost in the vast wooded area, Sgt Wisentaner drove his police vehicle to the town’s boat launch at the northern end of Hanover Road and put on its flashing emergency lights. Mr Urban was able to spot those brilliant lights from his vantage point, which was about two miles to the south along Lake Lillinonah, and then began signaling back with a flashlight to show his location.

Also, police Sergeant Phil Hynes, who was searching on foot for Mr Urban, signaled back to Sgt Wisentaner.

Through some approximation drawn from the relative positions of the two responding lights, Sgt Wisentaner, using a two-way radio, directed Sgt Hynes where he should walk in searching for Mr Urban.

Police attempted to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) feature that is built into the town’s E-911 calling system, but it was of limited value in the rugged area which is known for its spotty cellphone service.

Police mobilized ten officers to participate in the search and rescue effort, realizing that Mr Urban’s protracted stay outdoors was a hypothermia risk, the sergeant said.

The search involved repeatedly climbing up and down snow-covered hills in dark conditions, as well as fording streams in the woods, he said.

Eventually, Sgt Hynes was among the searchers who located Mr Urban in a rugged cliff-laden area near the lake’s shore, Sgt Wisentaner said. Police estimate that Sgt Hynes had hiked for about four miles in seeking Mr Urban before finding him on the Blue Trail.

Realizing that they were quite deep into the woods, the rescuers decided that the best way out would be via boat.

They then called for NUSAR’s boat to transport Mr Urban upriver to the town boat launch where an ambulance crew was waiting to treat him for cold weather exposure.

The ambulance crew then transported Mr Urban to Danbury Hospital for treatment, the sergeant said. He was out of the hospital the following day.

Search team members also took boat rides upriver to the town boat launch because it was the simplest way to get out of the woods, considering the difficult conditions, Sgt Wisentaner said.

The Goshen firefighters’ boat that was used in the search-rescue operation is an air boat that is able to traverse both open water and ice atop the water. Sections of Lake Lillinonah, which is an impoundment on the Housatonic River, were ice-covered on December 20.

Mike McCarthy, who was the incident commander for Hook & Ladder, headed a command post set up for the operation near the intersection of Hanover Road and Silver City Road.

Mr McCarthy said that fortunately Mr Urban had a cellphone that worked in the area that is known for its poor cellular service. Emergency crews experienced some communications problems with their radio gear in that terrain, he noted.

Mr McCarthy said that after being treated at the hospital, Mr Urban was home the following day and in good shape. Mr Urban’s dog was also doing well, Mr McCarthy said.

“The outcome was a good [one],” he added.

Attempts to reach Mr Urban for comment on the incident were unsuccessful.

“If we didn’t get to [Mr Urban] within another half-hour, he probably would have ended up dying … He was showing signs of exposure,” Sgt Wisentaner said. “It was definitely a situation in which we were fighting against time.

“It was definitely stressful [for the searchers] because we knew we had to get to him quick” due to the effects of cold weather exposure, the sergeant said. After learning that Mr Urban was having trouble physically holding his cellphone, Sgt Wisentaner realized the urgency of the situation and called all available police to the scene.

“The elements were tough … We knew that we only had so much time to work with,” he said.

The sergeant urged that when hiking, people should let others know of their plans and when they plan to return from the hike. It was Mr Urban’s letting his father know in advance when he planned to return from his hike that resulted in his father contacting police after it was apparent that his son had become lost in the woods, the sergeant said.

Also, the sergeant urged that anyone who hikes should carry a working cellphone on them.

The day after the incident, Mr Urban contacted police, Sgt Wisentaner said.

“He was very thankful to us. He realized the seriousness of it. It could have ended up very tragically,” he added.

Sgt Wisentaner complimented the work of those involved in the major rescue effort under adverse conditions.

“Everyone involved in it did an excellent job,” he said.