Back Country Medics help in search

Back Country Medics (formerly Back Country Medical Rescue Team) was called to help search for a missing man earlier this week and were able to locate his motorcycle and his body near mile post 151 on U.S. Highway 12 Wednesday.

Idaho State Police reports identify the man as Patrick Clancy McNeill, 61, of Portland, OR. He was riding a 2002 Honda motorcycle eastbound, failed to negotiate a left hand curve and went off the right side of the road. The vehicle hit several large boulders and he was thrown from the motorcycle landing on the rock embankment. The motorcycle landed in the Lochsa River. The accident is still under investigation.

According to Neal Johnson, Back Country Medics was originally called out Tuesday to search for the man. However, they were unable to fly because the helicopter and the pilot from Hillcrest Aircraft Company, Inc. that usually flies with the team were involved in fighting fire elsewhere. Johnson flew with Hillcrest owner Gayle Wilson in a helicopter Wednesday to search for the man.

Johnson said the motorcycle rider had been with a group traveling on the highway toward the Montana line. The group last saw the man at a turn out just past Three Rivers. They noticed later that he was gone.

Photos: McNeill's motorcycle in the Lochsa River. Both shots are from above. (Photos courtesy of Neal Johnson)