Rescue teams don’t hold out a lot of hope when someone goes missing in an icy Alaskan forest. Few outcomes look promising. Did he freeze to death? Was he attacked by a bear? Each possibility is worse than the former.
So when a diligent team of Alaskan State Troopers received a call about a missing person, Tyson Steele, they knew the odds of a successful mission were low. A certain clue seen in the snow, however, convinced rescue workers he may not be lost forever.
When the family and friends of 30-year-old Tyson Steele heard nothing from him in weeks, their minds started imagining the worst. It wasn’t like him to ignore the people in his life. This was all too odd.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
They asked authorities for a welfare check to ease their minds. Alaska State Troopers checked his secluded Alaskan cabin, his nearest neighbor being 20 miles away, but no one was there.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
Tyson lived alone in his remote Susitna Valley cabin since he purchased it from a Vietnam War veteran in September 2019. The introvert’s only company was his six-year-old chocolate Labrador, Phil.
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Tyson Steele / Facebook
“Miles and miles of forests, hills, rivers and lakes separated him from the road system,” read a report from the Alaska State Troopers. That was how Tyson liked it, away from the world. And that’s why no one witnessed his terrifying ordeal.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
Tyson’s nightmare began when he awoke in the middle of the night, as he felt strangely chilly. He got up and fueled his nearly ancient wood stove with a giant piece of cardboard before hopping back into bed. This was a mistake.
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Tyson Steele / Facebook
The hasty move sent a spark through his chimney, which then fell onto the cabin’s roof, all while Tyson was fast asleep. He didn’t wake up for some time.
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Tyson Steele / Facebook
Hours later, he rose, cold again, to the sound of blazing drips of plastic coming through the roof above him. He rushed outside, only to witness a horrific sight. Tyson reached panic mode.
Sam Friedman / News-Miner
His roof was up in flames. Tyson looked down to see his feet stuffed in boots short of socks, along with a pair of long johns under a wool sweater. He realized he had to act fast to grab more clothes and whatever else he could find before they turned to ash.
Gibraltar Fire Department
He ran inside the burning cabin, grabbing whatever was sitting on his bed, which included heavy coats and sleeping bags. He had no time to think. As each second went by, the flames swallowed more and more of Tyson’s life.
Stephanie Reighart
After hurriedly exiting the cabin, Tyson called for Phil, who was somewhere inside. Tyson saw Phil leap off the bed, thinking the furry lab would make it out of the fiery cabin. Tyson then ran to the other side of the cabin to fetch his rifle… which is when he heard howling.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
Tyson’s heart sank. His beloved dog was caught in the flames, and there was nothing he could do but scream. He let out a visceral screech, nearly tearing his vocal cords. Tyson flooded with heavy sorrow.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
He stared as all of his belongings, including his bullets, were completely engulfed by flames. The fire then reached Tyson’s stored oils and grease tank. Soon, explosions went off here and there.
Stephanie Reighart
In a fit of hysteria, Tyson did whatever he could to put the flames out, throwing snow at it like a madman. He worked to put it out until the sun finally rose. He eventually went through the remains of his life to see what he could salvage.
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Tyson Steele / Facebook
He had no working phone and no car. It was a matter of merely surviving in the frosty woods. Tyson counted up whatever cans were salvageable, calculating he had approximately two cans a day for 30 days on rations.
ABC News / YouTube
The aggressive flames popped open cans of food, and partially melted jars of peanut butter. Everything tasted like black smoke, but Tyson was in no position to get picky. For the first two nights, he slept in a snow cave, which provided little warmth. He practically shivered himself to sleep.
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Wilderness Innovation / YouTube
After Tyson could no longer take the icy snow cave, he built a tent-like shelter out of tarps and remnants of lumber around his wooden stove — the same device that took all of his belongings and his beloved dog.
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bushcraftbartons / YouTube
Tyson realized it was time to redirect his focus on getting rescued. He stomped giant letters in the snow, filling his tracks with black ashes to make them visible from an arial view. He repeated this tedious process several times, as snow continued to fall.
ImageMovers
After spelling out S.O.S., he spent days chiseling a path in the snow to a lake near his property where planes could land. He was terrified, but hopeful that help was on its way.
Tyson Steele / Facebook
Eventually, after three grueling weeks enduring Alaska’s harsh temperatures, Tyson looked up to see a helicopter circling above. He frantically waved his arms at the aircraft and soon felt a wave of relief.
As Tyson sat at the Alaska State Troopers’ Aircraft Section Hangar at Lake Hood, a cup of hot coffee warming his hands, rescuers took notice of his grisly appearance. His long hair was matted and damaged, his hands were rough and filthy, and his beard had grown to his chest.
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ImageMovers
“Really a terrifying prospect, and he just did an amazing job of thinking fast, thinking clearly, acting logically, and, basically, saving his life,” said Ken Marsh.
Alaska Department of Public Safety