Joseph W. Gardner, who helped to rescue John H. Young from exposure, Douglas Lake, British Columbia, December 7, 1982. While herding cattle, Young, 35, had sustained a concussion in a fall and was missing in sub-zero temperatures overnight from the ranch of his employer. When informed, Gardner, 36, ranch manager, took off in the ranch plane, despite poor conditions at the airstrip, and, with a man aboard to help, searched the vicinity in which Young was known to have been working. When they spotted Young, who was suffering from hypothermia and lying on a frozen lake, Gardner decided to land the plane on the ice. Without accurate knowledge of ice thickness or snow depth, and despite the fact that the plane was not equipped with skis, Gardner landed the plane and taxied to Young. Although they then heard ice cracking, Gardner and the other man ran to Young and placed him aboard the plane. Gardner flew Young to a hospital, where he was detained and treated for his injuries. He recovered.
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