News Release

Three lost hunters in Osceola National Forest found on Christmas Day

December 26, 2007
Contact: Karen Parker, 386-758-0525

Three lost hunters received a great Christmas present from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) when they were found in the woods Tuesday night.

The three Lake City hunters, Marty Barfus, 37, Timothy Barfus, 34, and Matthew Barfus, 6, had gone small game hunting at about 11 a.m. They called family members around 4 p.m. to let them know they were lost in Otter Bay Swamp in the Osceola National Forest and needed help.

Family members searched the area until it began getting dark, and then called the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office whose officers arrived at the scene and found the hunters’ vehicle. The sheriff’s office called the FWC for assistance in locating the three people. Units from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Baker Correctional K-9 were also called to help.

FWC Officer Billy Giles and his K-9 partner, Parker, along with USFS Agent Jimmy Ellis, located a jacket in the vehicle of the lost hunters to use as a scent item. Parker began tracking the three missing people.

According to FWC Lt. Scott Kihei, other FWC officers began searching by truck and on ATVs. The FWC helicopter was also called into service.

The conditions Christmas night were less than perfect for flying the helicopter, said FWC Pilot Joe Johnston.   

“It was a drizzly night with a cloud cover at 600 feet. However, the location we were given was only about 10 miles from the airport and in very familiar territory to me, so we launched,” Johnston said.  

“One FWC officer on the ground told me to concentrate north of his location and in just a few minutes, I was able to pick up a faint glow about a mile away with my night vision goggles (NVG),” Johnston said.

FWC Lt. Steve Farmer was operating the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) unit on the helicopter and directed Johnston to a “huge black-hot” heat source. The FLIR detects extremely subtle temperature changes and doesn’t care if it’s midday or midnight. It creates an image based on heat. The FLIR also has a laser that can be directed at the ground to assist in locating a specific site.

“I flew to the spot and Steve could then see three people around a small fire.  Steve even told me it looked like two men and a boy,” Johnston said.  “With the wind and low cloud cover, it was nearly impossible to stay close enough to the fire to see it with the NVGs and direct officers on foot, but with the FLIR, I set up a wide orbit and let Steve keep the laser on the campfire.”

Johnston directed the officers on the ground to the laser, with instructions to shine their flashlights up into the trees. 

“Officers Giles, Ellis and Parker were within a quarter mile of the three lost hunters and had been calling to them,” Kihei said. “The brush was extremely thick and made maneuvering difficult. However, with the additional assistance from the helicopter, the officers quickly made contact with the trio.” 

“As soon as they made contact, we were on course back to the airport,” Johnston said. “However, about two minutes into our return flight, the officers requested our assistance to help them get back out of the woods. We turned around and did the whole thing in reverse. It's amazing how disoriented a person can become in a terribly overgrown area under an overcast sky.” 

The three lost hunters, along with the two officers and K-9, made it out of the swamp to waiting family and FWC officers. 

“This is a great example of teamwork,” Kihei said.

Johnston echoed Kihei’s statement. “The officers on the ground, working in conjunction with the helicopter’s FLIR and NVGs, are a tough combination to beat during a search and rescue,” Johnston said. “If you’re lost, we will find you.”