Hunting Guide Rescued From Brooks Range After Bear Mauling

Friday morning the Alaska Air National Guard used some special tactics and equipment to successfully pull off a rescue in the Brooks Range north of Anaktuvuk Pass, where a hunting guide was mauled by a brown bear.

James Tuttle was mauled on Wednesday and his guiding company flew in with a paramedic to treat him but feared they couldn’t get him out without endangering his life so they called for help.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center worked out of Eielson Air Force Base with a C-130 dropping flares to guide a helicopter through the pass and to the site. They also re-fueled the helicopter in the air.

Returning, they went back to Eielson because of limited visibility at the Fairbanks hospital, and Tuttle was transported from the base to the hospital, where he’s reported to be recovering.