Three 4-wheelers stranded overnight rescued from snowy Mendocino National Forest

Three men on a four-wheeling excursion in the Mendocino National Forest were rescued Tuesday afternoon after becoming stuck in deep snow and spending the night in their truck on a remote forest road, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, one of two rescues launched by the agency on Tuesday.

The other rescue ended almost before it began, with a stranded mushroom picker finding his own way out of Jackson State Forest after being lost overnight in the woods, sheriff’s officials said.

The snow rescue began with a 10:30 a.m. report from Lake County that the three men, ages 18 to 25, were stranded just north of Hull Mountain on Forest Road M-1, an area that turned out to be in Mendocino County, authorities said.

Because of heavy snowfall and the remote location, Mendocino County sheriff’s officials asked for additional assistance. Cal Fire and the South Lake County Fire District responded, deploying a “Sno-Cat,” a vehicle equipped with snow-maneuvering tracks. Lake County’s search and rescue team also assisted.

The rescue vehicle experienced mechanical difficulties before reaching the stranded men, but searchers were able to walk the additional mile and bring them back to the Sno-Cat, which by then was once again operational. The men -Alexander Winters, 19, of Ukiah, Tyler Bennetto, 25, of Willits, and Jesse Jones, 18, of Redwood Valley - were driven back to the search and rescue base camp near Lake Pillsbury. No injuries were reported, sheriff’s officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 707-462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.