The Alaska Incident Management Team received a report on 08/17/23 at 0830 that Saudith Rendon (51 YOA) with an out of state Oregon Wildland Fire Hand Crew working on the Lost Horse Creek Fire near the Elliott Highway in Alaska was reported missing. It was reported that he was cooking breakfast at 0630 at the Olnes Pond Campground that is closed due to staging fire personnel only. His crew was scheduled to meet up at the bus to drive to the fire line and he did not make it at the scheduled time. Saudith Rendon’s personal belongings were found at the campsite but no sign of him being in camp. At the time of disappearance, he was last seen wearing a red jacket, green sweatshirt and green nomex pants. He is approximately 5’7” and 185 lbs with curly hair. He was believed to be on foot.
The Alaska Incident Management Green Team worked closely with Alaska State Parks, Alaska State Troopers and Wilderness Search and Rescue to conduct a search.
On August 18th, 2023 three crews initially scheduled to continue with mop-up operations along the southern perimeter of the Lost Horse Creek fire committed to the search for the missing firefighter. The missing firefighter, Saudith Rendon, was located the evening of Thursday, August 17th around 5:30 pm. He was assessed on scene by incident medical personnel and was transported in stable condition to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for further assessment. The firefighter was released from the hospital the same evening and is traveling home.
“We would like to thank Alaska State Troopers, Alaska State Parks, Wilderness Search and Rescue and PAWS Search and Rescue for their efforts in the search,” said the searchers.
