Snowbird – Graham County dispatch received a call from a worried father in Charlotte around 5:25 p.m., Saturday. He had not heard from his son, 18-year-old Samuel McMasters, since 1:30 p.m., Friday.
McMasters was camped on Big Snowbird Creek. The father felt he should have been out of the woods and on his way back by then.
Graham County Rescue Squad member Tory Lynnes located McMasters’s vehicle at what is known by locals as “The Junction.” There was no sign of anyone or no camping gear visible in the car.
Lynnes began searching along the trail McMasters was supposed to have taken and located him near Sassafras Creek at 6:40 p.m., and reached the parking lot with him at 7:15 p.m.
Also assisting in the mission were squad members Larry Crisp and Brent Eller, Graham County EMS Director Brian Stevens and U.S. Forest Service Officer Austin Henderson.