Distance Runner Credits Shower Curtain For Saving Life

The 46-year-old Orangevale resident spent a chilly night lost in the Sierra foothills near Foresthill but was found in good condition and pulled to safety during a dramatic aerial rescue shortly after sunrise Monday.

Rose said he had to cope with sub-freezing temperatures and stay aware of wild animals lurking nearby.

Wearing little more than running shorts and a T-shirt, he found a shower curtain and used it to shield temperatures that dipped into the high 20s.

“I had on my shorts, a T-shirt and was lucky enough to find a shower curtain,” Rose told KCRA 3 shortly after his rescue.

Rescuers worked overnight to find Rose but had no luck.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter searching from the air found him shortly after 8 a.m.

The CHP helicopter left the area to refuel and eventually returned to the area. A cable was lowered to Rose as he stood on a bridge over a branch of the American River about nine miles east of Foresthill.

Rose was lifted up into the chopper and flown to safety. He declined an offer to go to a hospital in Roseville. Instead, he was taken back to the search command post, where he was met by his wife.

CHP pilot Mark Uhlenberg had a tricky job to keep the helicopter steady during a rescue in a narrow canyon in windy conditions.

Leslie Berndl, a CHP paramedic, lowered the rescue cable to Rose, who attached himself and was lifted to the chopper.
Berndl said she was happy to see the rescue come to a happy ending.

“It’s a just a great feeling seeing him and seeing that he looks like he’s OK,” she said.

Rose set out on Sunday for a 22-mile training run along rugged trails.

Read the complete story at nbc11.com