Mountain Bikers Rescue Hiker Lost Three Days in Idaho Wilderness

Heather Wayment, a 46-year-old woman from Idaho, survived three days lost in the remote mountains of central Idaho before being found by a group of mountain bikers who were unaware of the ongoing official search. Wayment was located approximately 17 miles from her vehicle in a remote part of the Sawtooth Mountains, disoriented, barefoot, and with bloodied feet, having lost her shoes and left her phone in the car. The bikers, Tommy and Vinton Gwinn and Shelton Robinson, used a satellite phone to contact emergency services and guided rescuers to her location, resulting in her airlift to a medical center. Despite a massive search effort involving deputies, dogs, drones, and horseback teams, the rescue was made possible by this chance encounter rather than the organized search. Wayment’s ordeal underscored the dangers of hiking alone without proper gear or communication tools, especially in rugged terrain where survival depends on preparedness and sometimes, luck. Local authorities and rescuers expressed gratitude to the mountain bikers for their decisive actions in aiding the rescue.