Orval Herbert Roulston 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. Roulston, 44, cowboy foreman, volunteered to accompany the pilot of a search plane, which took off despite poor conditions at the airstrip. When Roulston and the pilot spotted Young, who was suffering from hypothermia and lying on a frozen lake, the men decided to land the plane on the ice. Without accurate knowledge of ice thickness or snow depth, and even though the airplane was not equipped with skis, they landed the plane and taxied to Young. Although they then heard ice cracking, Roulston and the pilot ran to Young and placed him aboard the plane. The pilot flew Young to the hospital, where he was detained and treated for his injuries. He recovered. Roulston rode Young’s horse back to safety.
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