The Montana motorcyclist who went disappeared Aug. 11 while on a Western states road trip with friends is in a Missoula hospital recovering after an intense five-day search for him ended Friday, one of his friends on the trip told Cowboy State Daily.
Zachary DeMoss, 24, was giving friends Aly Phan and Devlin Zarn a head start as the three headed from Kooskia, Idaho, to Lolo, Montana, on Aug. 11 on Idaho’s Highway 12. It was supposed to be the last leg of the trio’s trip from Montana to Oregon and back.
DeMoss drives quickly and is the more experienced rider of the group, so he told Phan and Zarn to leave a Kooskia saloon a few minutes ahead of him.
While riding alone, he swerved his Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 to avoid hitting a deer, Phan told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. He then “went airborne,” vaulting over a steep embankment. His bike hit a tree and he tumbled into a creek.
“He did not hit the deer, we think he might have clipped it,” said Phan, relating the story from one of the people who found DeMoss.
Coddling a dangerously worn-down rear tire on their own bike, Phan and Zarn searched for DeMoss for several hours, then Phan posted social media pleas for others to spread the word or join the search. They had a friend pick them up in a car so they could continue looking for DeMoss.
Five days later, searchers found DeMoss just as Idaho County authorities were scaling back their search efforts. He was hurt, but had survived by drinking creek water all week, the Idaho County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday afternoon.
Law enforcement had deployed helicopters, foot searchers and drones to find DeMoss, all with no results until a Garmin inReach device pinged the International Emergency Response Coordination Center just before 2 p.m. Friday.
Overwhelmed
Numerous search parties helped to find DeMoss.
His mother, Ruth Rickenbacher, posted a note of gratitude and amazement to her Facebook page Sunday.
“Our family is overwhelmed by your generosity in helping Zachary on his recovery journey,” wrote Rickenbacher. “We were so heartbroken this entire last week as we walked mile by mile until dark only to end the day on defeat. His dad and I never stopped believing he would be found in any other way than alive. My son just is one of those men that have true grit.”
DeMoss has “an amazing story to tell in the near future,” she continued, adding that his recovery will take time, however.
The family is overwhelmed by the generosity of those who helped DeMoss or prayed for him, Rickenbacher wrote.
In another earlier post she wrote, “Thanks be to GOD!” and called DeMoss’s rescue a miracle.
The Hard Lessons
DeMoss was craving oranges and seltzer after his rescue. When he wasn’t yet allowed to eat at the hospital, all he wanted was to smell an orange, Phan said.
She said the whole experience has been a hard lesson.
“We have all agreed to make sure we all know our routes next time, stay SAFE, and to ALWAYS stick together while riding, because we lost him in literally a blink of an eye,” said Phan in a Saturday text message.
DeMoss said bikers are “people who have gone down, and those who have YET to go down,” Phan related from a conversation with her friend.
She thanked Cowboy State Daily for spreading DeMoss’s message while he was missing, adding that DeMoss likely needs more time to recover before giving an interview.
Contact Clair McFarland at clair@cowboystatedaily.com
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
