Family Tells Story Of Rescue In Eastern Montana

The Crace family (from left) Alex and her husband, Alex; Zach; Cody; Sarah; and Vic with the bull elk that was harvested on Oct. 25. (Photo submitted)

The night of Sunday, Oct. 25, will never be forgotten by the Crace family of Libby, but due to the effort by the Valley County Search and Rescue team, the family can remember the incident now with joy instead of horror.

Zach Crace, 30, was rescued early on Oct. 26, from an island in Southerland Creek Bay on Fort Peck Lake after spending a chilly night alone.

Vic Crace, Zach’s father, was beyond thankful for the search and rescue team. “Without those volunteers, we would have lost my son,” Vic said. “They kept our family whole. They were so amazing.”

Vic added that the search and rescue team used a boat that was paid for with a Homeland Security grant. “That rescue made the boat 100 percent worth it,” the father said.

Mother Sarah Crace said the ordeal started about 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 when Zach took a boat up the Fort Peck Reservoir to help his brother, Cody; sister, Alex; and brother-in-law, Alex, after the brother-inlaw harvested a bull elk at about 3-4 p.m. They were located about 16 miles up the reservoir.

When Zach got about just 400 yards away from his relatives, the boat ran into an island. Zach went into the calf-deep water and was unsuccessful in trying to move the boat.

After Vic and Sarah were notified about the situation, they called the Valley County Sheriff’s Office at about 9 p.m. The rescue attempt, however, had to be called off at about 12:45 a.m. due to weather concerns causing waves to go over the rescue boat.

That decision meant that Zach was going to have to stay alone that night in the cold and, to make matters worse, he was wet.

“That was a sickening feeling,” Sarah shared.

Without any blankets, Zach wrapped himself in the canvas of the boat cover and tried to lower himself as far down as possible inside the boat.

“It was a never-ending battle against the wind,” Zach said. “I typically run on the warmer side, so it was very not normal for me to feel cold.”

Cody, Alex and Alex made the very difficult decision to hike up out of the canyon. They notified Zach of the decision through an iPhone text.

Zach felt it was the right choice for them to make. “I was more mad at myself,” he said.

Once the three reached the beach, they joined in a prayer that they would see their brother again.

The family then spent a very stressful night together.

“There were a lot of tears,” Sarah said. “There were lots and lots of hugs and I love yous.”

Promising news came at about 7 a.m. when they heard the search and rescue was going back out. They reached Zach at about 8:30 a.m.

Zach said when he heard on the intercom that it was search and rescue, he got up and started waving to make sure they spotted him. He said he was extremely cold and was off-balance when walking.

His body temperature was below 90 degrees. Officials wrapped him in blankets and he was taken to a hospital where he spent about three hours.

“I thought thank God and we couldn’t get him to the hospital fast enough,” Sarah said. “We were told that if it was a few more hours, they probably would had found him in the boat deceased.”

Vic said that his family members are very outdoors minded and have hunted in that area about seven different times.

“Never in a million years

Safe

did we think it could happen,” he explained.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, family members did pack out the bull elk. That was the final piece of a rollercoaster episode for the family that thankfully ended in the best way possible.

“It’s a story we will never forget,” Sarah said.